Virginia project aims to store greenhouse gases

Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., on Monday spoke at a gathering in Cedar Bluff to launch a test to determine whether captured carbon dioxide can be stored in a coal seam. Some 1,000 tons of the greenhouse gas will be injected into an unmineable seam in Russell County.

The project is being funded by $4.4 million from the U.S. Department of Energy and $1.1 million from industries.

"Carbon dioxide controls are coming," Boucher said in prepared remarks, noting support for mandatory limits in both houses of Congress.

Unmineable coal seams can be a major way to sequester the greenhouse gas, he said, because they can accommodate a large amount of carbon dioxide and are situated near major emission sites. Dominion Virginia Power, which is a subsidiary of Dominion Resources Inc., last week held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new coal-burning power plant in adjacent Wise County.

However, a spokesman for an environmental group said the technology for pressurized capture of carbon dioxide is still under development

"A storage test is part of it, but it's a far smaller piece than the capturing part," said Cale Jaffe, and attorney with the Charlottesville, Va.-based Southern Environmental Law Center.

The Russell results are expected in January, and Boucher said the next step will be a larger test: a $100 million project to inject 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide into a coal seam. That test will require a $60 million federal investment, with state and industry officials paying the rest.

Boucher said his office was seeking to have the large-scale test conducted in his southwest Virginia district as well, and has asked the Department of Energy for $1.8 million to fund work on site selection.