R & D Magazine
... Training and Research (AVESTAR) center consists of two equivalent facilities—one at the Office of Fossil Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and the other at West Virginia University's National Research Center for Coal and Energy ...

Read more: DOE Launches Virtual Energy Simulation Training and Research Center

AP

In this March 29, 2011, file photo Senate Armed Services Committee member Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. listens to testimony on Capitol Hill in Washington.

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin hit back Tuesday after another Democratic lawmaker suggested that coal was all his state has and that miners should find new jobs.

Following the criticism, Manchin released a letter inviting Conyers to visit his state, highlighting the importance of coal as an energy source in America.

“Without a reliable and affordable resource like coal, America wouldn’t be where we are – whether it’s the steel forged by West Virginia’s coal that then was used to build our great skyscrapers and military, or whether it’s the electricity from coal that today powers nearly half this country,” Manchin said. He added that coal is key to helping the country become independent from foreign oil.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/08/24/west-virginia-senator-calls-out-dem-rep-for-negative-coal-comments/#ixzz1WKhldIyl

John McArdle, E&E Reporter

DETROIT -- House Judiciary Committee ranking member John Conyers (D-Mich.) today said "clean coal" doesn't exist and thatWest Virginia coal miners should switch to other jobs during a speech at the opening session of U.S. EPA's 2011 Environmental Justice Conference.

"From my limited understanding, there is no such thing as clean coal," said Conyers, filling in for EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, who had been invited to give this morning's keynote address.

The American public continues to be bombarded by the idea that coal has a future in this country due to powerful special interest groups and regional advocates, Conyers said.

CHARLESTON, W.Va - Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, today, signed Senate Bill 1002, which dedicates an additional percentage of coal severance tax revenues to the counties where the coal was mined.

 

"West Virginia is enjoying a stable economy at a time of uncertainty elsewhere in the nation," Gov. Tomblin said. "This dedicated revenue will allow the counties whose natural resources are contributing to the health of our state's economy a greater share of the benefits those resources provide."

 

Senate Bill 1002 reallocates revenue from the coal severance tax in 1 percent increments over the next five years, beginning July 1, 2012. Ultimately an additional 5 percent will be directed to the counties by fiscal year 2017. The revenue dedicated by legislation will be placed in a special fund called the Coal County Reallocated Severance Tax Fund to be used on economic development and infrastructure projects. Senate Bill 1002 caps the amount distributed to the counties at $20 million per year.

By Mannix Porterfield Register-Herald Reporter

CHARLESTON — Boone County leads the league when it comes to the new recipe for West Virginia’s coal severance pie, in line to get the biggest slice — $671,481 — next year.

By fiscal 2017, the final year of the annual 1 percent phase-in over five years, Boone is projected to have received $3,357,403, based on production figures.

Under a law approved Tuesday by acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, coal-producing counties will start sharing the initial 1 percent of the tax that now is poured directly into the general revenue account.

Once the five-year period ends, the counties will get the first 5 percent thereafter, with an annual $20 million cap.

The difference actually begins next year, at the start of the new fiscal year, and Boone County will take in 16.8 percent.

http://www.register-herald.com/local/x531751935/Boone-Marshall-and-Logan-tops-in-coal-severance