Bill Would Have Power Companies Reuse Emissions

Carbon sequestration, or the capture and re-use of CO2 emissions from power plants, is a relatively new concept. That's why State Representative Greg Vitali of Delaware County and State Senator Edwin Erickson of Delaware and Chester Counties are introducing legislation to research and implement the technology in the Commonwealth as soon as possible. Vitali says the environmental benefits would be laudable, and there would be economic advantages as well. "We can export [sequestration technology] to countries like India and China, who are still building coal facilities," said the representative, who presented the legislation this session. In addition, jobs would be created through the construction of a state sequestration facility. The captured CO2 would be reused to free up underground oil reserves. Vitali says the bill would also increase the amount of renewable energy that power companies must distribute to customers to 20% by the year 2026. Says Vitali, "The reality is this country is heavily dependent on coal... and will continue to be for the intermediate future. The real question is, 'Are we going to release the CO2 this coal burns into the atmospehere, or are we going to capture it?'"