U.S. Energy Dept. funds carbon storage

CHARLESTON, W.Va., May 27 (UPI) -- The U.S. Energy Department announced funding for carbon dioxide storage.

The Department of Energy will give the Virginia Tech Center for Coal and Energy Research a $1.8 million grant to research the feasibility of storing carbon dioxide in unmineable coal seams, the Bluefield Daily Telegraph reported.

This is another significant step in the department's ongoing efforts to develop a process to store carbon dioxide, said U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va.

Boucher, along with state Sen. Phillip P. Puckett, D-Russell, supports the technology and the research.

"Coal is still this nation's leading source of energy, and carbon sequestration is a safe way to store some of the harmful byproducts of burning coal," Puckett said.

The department has committed a total of $6.35 million to the center since 2004, including a $150,000 grant to study the concept and $4.4 million for a small-scale test project that will involve a 1,000-ton carbon dioxide injection at a Russell County site in January 2009.

The grant Boucher announced will provide funds to plan a larger, 100,000-ton test in 2011 and 2017, at a total department investment of $60 million.