The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) has issued this response to a recent letter sent to President Obama from Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, Utah Governor Jon Huntsman and Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal:
"In a letter sent this week to President Obama, the governors of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming called for the rapid development of clean coal technologies that can be utilized domestically and adopted by industrializing nations such as China and India.
"In their letter, the governors asked the Obama Administration to thoroughly consider significant funding for federal-state-private efforts to construct new and retrofit demonstration clean coal facilities that use western coals and are capable of operating at altitude.
"ACCCE applauds Governor Ritter, Governor Huntsman and Governor Freudenthal for their support of the investment in clean coal technology, their recognition of coal as a cost-effective energy source and their support in helping develop a national solution to energy issues.
"ACCCE advocates the vital role that clean coal plays and will continue to play in this nation's energy portfolio. Over the last 30 years, America's coal-based electricity providers have invested more than $50 billion in technologies to successfully reduce emissions.
"If the United States is to reduce its dependence on foreign energy imports, while at the same time address realistic concerns associated with climate change, then Congress must fund this important technology research, development and deployment to avoid placing the funding burden on America's families through increases in electricity bills."
