Posted on 08/26/2005 2:59:00 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
HELENA, Montana (Reuters) - Montana's governor wants to solve America's rising energy costs using a technology discovered in Germany 80 years ago that converts coal into gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel.
The Fischer-Tropsch technology, discovered by German researchers in 1923 and later used by the Nazis to convert coal into wartime fuels, was not economical as long as oil cost less than $30 a barrel.
But with U.S. crude oil now hitting more than double that price, Gov. Brian Schweitzer's plan is getting more attention across the country and some analysts are taking him very seriously.
Montana is "sitting on more energy than they have in the Middle East," Schweitzer told Reuters in an interview this week.
"I am leading this country in this desire and demand to convert coal into gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel. We can do it in Montana for $1 per gallon," he said.
"We can do it cheaper than importing oil from the sheiks, dictators, rats and crooks that we're bringing it from right now."
The governor estimated the cost of producing a barrel of oil through the Fischer-Tropsch method at $32, and said that with its 120 billion tons of coal -- a little less than a third of the U.S total -- Montana could supply the entire United States with its aviation, gas and diesel fuel for 40 years without creating environmental damage.
An entry level Fischer-Tropsch plant producing 22,000 barrels a day would cost about $1.5 billion, he said.
The Democratic governor of this Republican state said he had met with Shell president John Hofmeister, General Electric's CEO Jeff Immelt, as well as officials from the Department of Defense, and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad to discuss his proposals.
Schweitzer added that the recently passed federal energy bill includes an 80 percent loan guarantee for a Fischer- Tropsch plant.
A former cattle rancher who lived for seven years in Saudi Arabia working on irrigation projects, Schweitzer is also seeking energy deals with other states, especially California.
California "says they need 25,000 megawatts of electricity during the next ten years," he said. "We'll give you a delivered price and we'll forward contract that for the next 20 years.
"Transmission companies from England, from Canada, from all over America are coming to my office and saying 'we'll build these transmission lines as soon as you have the contracts to build the generation."'
Sounds like a good idea...as long as oil stays above 30 dollars per barrel. I don't see why it wouldn't, unless the entire world went full tilt boogie in extracting crude.
btttt
Slick b@st@rd.
Alaska would be pleased to build the roads. The Alaska Port Authority, the leaseholders of the coal, and the Alaska Railroad are ready to do this. Most of the coal would be stripmined, with provision for protecting the environment, of course. The expanded port facility at Ketchikan could have an upgraded railroad connection, or the slurry product could be sent via pipeline to Valdez which is already equipped to handle monstrously humungous tankers.
ping
Gotcha and agree totally.
Like I remarked earlier on this thread.
Lets all stop complaining, get off our asses and start WORKING.
This country could become energy independent overnight.
All we need is an influx of "Want To"
Perhaps if the thing were set-up properly they could take advantage of that heat for something else the other by-products other than the CO2 could also be used. Of course the Enviro-Whackos will have a heart attack over the Global Warming effects.
Is that $30 in 1923 dollars, which equals something like $1200 of our dollars today?
If the price of oil drops to $45 dollars here you can bet your bippy it will be $45 everywhere. There are other nations with coal too. No if this thing starts to proceed the Saudis will drop their price and fast, in an effort to stop it. Without the oil market what will they do for money? Raise goats?
"Saudis will drop their price and fast, in an effort to stop it."
I don't care what the Saudis do, but let's make sure we pump them dry now, so they have no oil money to prop up the dying Jihad in a few years.
1.5 billion dollars to produce 8 million barrels of oil a year. We import 4 billion barrels. To replace one half of that amount would cost us about 375 billion dollars(250 plants x 1.5 billion = 2 billion barrels). Of course that oil then has to be refined.
It seems to me it would be a lot-lot cheaper to open off shore tracts in the U.S. to drilling - oil estimates run at about 60-80 billion barrels. Throw in ANWR and we could replace half our imports for the next 40 years at a fraction of the cost.
Understand but beg to disagree:
It's time for us to go to work.
New nuke plants as fast as we can tie the rebar and pour concrete.
Wind farms as far as the horizon.
Refineries and pipelines as fast as we can extrude the steel to make em.
Big and I mean BIG trains hauling coal from Wyoming and ALASKA, on new rails.
Come on people, we are the nation that beat two very dangerous enemies in WWII. We put people on the Moon. Defeated another dangerous enemy.
Like I said:
Only thing we need to do is get off our asses, grow some balls and go to work.....
We would still need the refineries Clinton closed up even if we opened up drilling in Ca. and Fla.
You've got the market aspects of this a little confused.
The producers don't set the price of oil. It is set by the purchasers by virtue of what they are willing to bid for it.
The method the Saudis have used in the past to set the price has been influencing the supply to to extent that bidders become less willing to pay because they have more suppliers to choose from. When there is plenty of oil, you can pick and choose from whom you wish to buy it.
Anything that leaves more crude on the market will have that effect. Either using less oil because of conservation, technological advances, or recession. Or producing more by drilling in ANWAR or any of the multitude of fertile areas the government has fenced off.
Wellllll,
quit standing around lighting each other's farts and
JUST DO IT!
And how do they get this coal out of the ground? Strip mining leaves huge scars. Better to just build more nukes.
Gee : and here I thought OPEC was organised to set oil prices. I guess they dont have any reason for their existence.
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