Kerry pledges $10 billion to clean up coal power plants

[Nambe]

By Chris Baltimore, Reuters

WASHINGTON — U.S. Democratic presidential challenger John Kerry on Thursday pledged $10 billion over a decade to help U.S. electric utilities find cleaner ways to burn coal, the nation's most abundant energy source.

In a bid to lure votes from coal-producing states like West Virginia, Kerry said that if elected he would offer incentives, like research grants, to encourage utilities to build coal-fired plants that give off almost no pollutants. ..

West Virginia's Democratic senators — Robert Byrd and Jay Rockefeller — endorsed Kerry's plan, as did unions representing utility employees and mine workers. Byrd also accused President Bush of ducking a campaign pledge to invest $2 billion in cleaner coal plants over a decade. That promise helped Bush secure West Virginia's electoral votes in the 2000 election. ..

Coal-fired power plants generate about half of the nation's electricity supplies, but few new plants have been built over the last decade because of uncertainty over federal clean air standards. ..

Bushista Mugger * * Kendra D-Ore
The Last Four Years in a Nutshell

[Webster Green]

1. Cleaning up after smirky.....

is going to be a massive and time consuming effort.

[Pachamama]

2. All of us and our kids will be cleaning up after Smirky for decades ...

And we won't be able to survive if there is another 4 years of Smirky and his Halliburton and other polluting friends of the environment.

:grr:

[madrchsod]

3. good idea..but better yet-

all the steel used to build these new plants and retro-fits should be made in the usa..the rest of the plants should at least 75% american made materials

[DaveSZ]

4. Good idea!

I like it.

[DeepModem Mom]

5. Come on West Virgini , vote Dem, vote real issues --

not divisive, manufactured issues!

[Nile]

6. Just more corporate welfare.

The utilities make plenty of cash. Make them clean up their own acts.