skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Critics: WV Carbon Capture Hub a Boondoggle, Empty Promises

play audio
Play

Tuesday, December 27, 2022   

President Joe Biden's infrastructure law contains $10 billion to sow the seeds for the creation of pipelines to capture, transport and store carbon emitted from coal and gas-fired power plants.

Critics say capturing carbon is expensive, risky, and based on largely unproven technology.

Sean O'Leary, senior researcher at the Ohio River Valley Institute, argued embarking on a plan to build carbon capture pipelines in West Virginia would double or triple the cost of generating electricity from the state's coal-fired power plants.

"The problem is that carbon capture and sequestration technology is horrifically expensive," O'Leary pointed out. "It's an expense that we would have to pay for, through our taxes and/or our utility bills in some combination."

According to the White House Council on Environmental Quality, the Ohio Valley pipeline network and three other carbon-capture hubs planned in other locations would cost more than $170 billion to construct.

Companies like ExxonMobil say carbon-capture technology is a key solution to the challenge of reaching net-zero emissions.

O'Leary countered wind, solar battery storage, and making energy-efficiency upgrades to insulation, ventilation and air conditioning would be a smarter choice for Mountain State communities.

"We could do it far less expensively than what's being proposed in the form of a hydrogen and carbon capture hub," O'Leary contended. "At the same time, it would do a much better job of greatly reducing emissions."

O'Leary noted the Appalachian region has been dazzled before by the fracking boom of the mid-2000s, which promised hundreds of thousands of new jobs across more than 20 counties in West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

"What we've seen repeatedly since the beginning of the natural gas boom, is that these visions are dangled before policymakers who give the industry subsidies and regulatory favors," O'Leary recounted. "But we never see the visions come to fruition and never receive the benefits."

According to a report by the Ohio Valley River Institute, jobs in the region at the peak of the natural gas boom increased by 1.6%, more than eight percentage points below the national average. More than 37,000 residents left those counties in the same period.

Disclosure: West Virginia Highlands Conservancy contributes to our fund for reporting on Budget Policy & Priorities, Environment, Urban Planning/Transportation, Water. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …

Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021