The Latest From the Governor of Montana

Friends:

Earlier this month I joined Bull Mountain Land Company in announcing an initial agreement with DKRW Advanced Fuels on one of the nation’s first coal-to-liquids facilities. The proposed facility would be located on the site of the Bull Mountain Coal mine outside of Roundup, MT. I am excited about the plant because it would employ state-of-the-art technology to gasify, rather than ignite the coal.

This plant would convert a portion of the synthetic gas into as much as 22,000 barrels per day of diesel fuel, using the rest of the syn-gas to produce "clean" electricity. This type of project can bring thousands of jobs to the region and have a strong overall economic impact on the entire state. In the greater picture, it gives America hope for an alternative to imported oil.

The plant could also produce 300 megawatts of electricity using IGCC (Integrated Gas Combined Cycle) technology, the cleanest and most advanced form of power production from coal, and would be outfitted with technology to capture and store carbon dioxide underground, a process promoted by scientists as a way of dealing with global warming emissions from fossil fuel plants. Perhaps most importantly, the gasifier at the facility will remove virtually all mercury, sulfur and particulate matter from the coal.

News on this exciting announcement:
Coal-to-Liquids power plant proposed: http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2006/10/03/news/state/20-power-plant.txt

Major boost expected if projects are built: http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2006/10/03/news/state/22-boost.txt

Plant to squeeze gas out of coal: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5038741,00.html

New coal technology: Consider the possibilities: http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2006/10/11/opinion/opinion1.txt

Best personal regards,

Brian

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Schweitzer storms East Coast to talk up Montana’s energy role

By NOELLE STRAUB
Gazette Washington Bureau

Gov. Brian Schweitzer kicked off a three-day East Coast swing Wednesday with the first in a series of speeches to national audiences on energy policy and clean-coal technologies.

Full Story: http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2006/10/12/news/state/45-schweitzer.txt