WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Energy announced an $8 billion solicitation in federal loan guarantees for projects employing new clean coal technology.
Energy Department officials said the projects should employ advanced technologies that avoid, reduce or sequester emissions of air pollutants or greenhouse gases in the area of coal-based power generation, industrial gasification and advanced coal gasification facilities.
It's the third round of solicitations that encourages the commercial use of new or significantly improved energy technologies and is an important step in paving the way for clean energy projects, officials said.
"This solicitation will make available $6 billion in loan guarantee authority for incorporating carbon capture and storage or other emissions-reducing carbon technologies into industrial gasification activities, retrofitted and new coal-based power generation facilities," the department said in a statement. "An additional $2 billion in loan guarantee authority will be made available for advanced coal gasification projects, which convert coal cleanly into electricity, hydrogen and other valuable energy products.
