U.S. taxpayers see profit in clean coal

Taxpayers see a quick and significant return on the government's investment in advanced clean coal technologies, according to a study by the Management Information Services Inc. for the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity.

For every dollar that the government invests in the research and development of clean coal technology, taxpayers gets $13 in benefits, said Joe Lucas, the coalition's senior vice president of communications.

"And as we work toward developing programs to capture and store greenhouse gas emissions, this type of investment will be more important than ever to the American taxpayer as we work to ensure that it can reduce emissions and still maintain access to affordable, reliable electricity produced by American coal and other domestic fuels," he added.

The study, entitled Benefits of Investment in Clean Coal Technology, provides an up-to-date review of federal spending for research and development of clean coal technologies and the derived benefit.

The study also compares the public benefits of investments in these programs to other energy-related spending programs. Several energy research and development programs fail to provide a return on investment for taxpayers, while return on investment in clean coal projects come faster, with greater benefits.

"Many of the emerging technologies required to lower the carbon intensity of our current energy supply system will involve first-of-their kind technologies," said Mr. Lucas.

He pointed out that despite the risk involved in bringing new technologies to the marketplace, it is equally important to drive down the cost of deploying the technologies so that the consumer gets the benefit of reduced emissions and can access affordable energy.

One of the main benefits from investing in clean coal technology is reduced electricity rates resulting from lower compliance costs, as coal-based electricity plants deploy new technologies to meet more stringent air quality standards.

Moreover, the study also shows that federal investment in these new technologies more than pay for themselves in terms of reduced electricity costs and other associated benefits for the taxpayers.

Taxpayer benefits of investments in clean coal technologies accumulate over time. By yearend, the cumulative benefits from the program totaled $6 billion and cumulative Department of Energy costs totaled $3.5 billion, for a return of investment of 1.7.

By 2012, the cumulative benefits from the program will likely total more than $12 billion and cumulative Energy Department's costs will likely total $4.4 billion, for a return of investment of nearly 3.

Three years after, the cumulative benefits from the program will likely total $41 billion and cumulative costs at $5.7 billion, for a return of investment of more than 7.

By 2020, the cumulative benefits from the program will likely total $111 billion and cumulative costs to the Energy Department will likely amount to $8.5 billion, for a return of investment of more than 13.

Management Information Services Inc. previously conducted studies for the National Academy of Sciences on reviewing and evaluating the effectiveness of government investments in energy research and development programs.