2010 Update: Economic Benefits from Advanced Coal Generation

The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) has released a series of state studies conducted by BBC Research and Consulting, in conjunction with ACCCE, that estimates the employment and economic benefits for a host of states resulting from deployment of advanced coal-based electricity generation facilities (power plants) equipped with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies that reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

These state studies are an update of a February 2009 study entitled “Employment and Other Economic Benefits from Advanced Coal Electric Generation with Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Technologies," in which a coalition of key labor and energy industry groups, including the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB), the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) and ACCCE, agreed that the next generation of advanced clean coal technologies—those that capture and safely sequester carbon dioxide (CO2) – would create millions of high-skilled, high-wage American jobs.

This May 2010 update provides a detailed analysis of the economic and employment benefits of CCS in 30 states. The findings of the state studies illustrate just why it’s so important we continue to invest in these technologies.

Highlights include:

Wyoming, where the construction of three advanced coal CCS plants using supercritical pulverized coal (PC) technology is anticipated to support a cumulative total of approximately 78,000 job-years between now and 2025 in various sectors. Annual operating and maintenance (O&M) costs at the sites are estimated at more than $2.7 million.

North Carolina, where the construction of four CCS facilities using integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) technology is estimated to generate approximately 160,000 job-years between now and 2025 in various sectors, with construction costs estimated at about $8 billion. Total annual O&M costs are estimated at approximately $350 million.

Louisiana, where the construction of seven advanced coal facilities using supercritical PC technology is estimated to generate a cumulative total of 190,000 job-years between now and 2025 in various sectors, with construction costs estimated at about $14.9 billion. Total annual O&M costs are estimated at approximately $530 million.

Ohio, where the construction of two advanced coal CCS plants using IGCC technology is projected to support a cumulative total of more than 53,000 job-years between now and 2025 in various sectors, with construction costs estimated at approximately $4 billion and annual O&M costs (including coal mining) are estimated at approximately $305 million.

The study also covers the economic and employment benefit of clean coal technologies to Ariz., Ark., Colo., Fl., Ga., Ill., Ind., Iowa, Kan., Ky., Md., Mich., Minn., Mo., Mont., Neb., Nev., N.M., N.D., Okla., Pa., Tenn., TX., UT., Va., and W.Va.

View studies by state: