THIS IS A PRESS RELEASE FROM THE OFFICE OF UNITED STATES SENATOR JAY ROCKEFELLER.

Washington, DC –Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) announced today that the U.S. Senate has endorsed a proposal to keep the development of coal-to-liquids (CTL) technology advancing in the right direction. The measure was included as part of the 2007 Farm Bill that passed the Senate late Friday night by a vote of 79-14.

“There is no single alternative fuel source that will address our growing energy needs and lessen our dependence on foreign energy. The responsible use of clean coal to meet our electricity and transportation needs must be in the mix,” Rockefeller said. “The overwhelming support of the Senate sends a clear message: Coal conversion is a technology worth investing in. But along with tax credits, we need to go one step further and begin a substantial federal government investment – along the lines of the Manhattan Project – to begin researching and developing a workable solution for carbon capture and sequestration.”

Specifically, Rockefeller measure extends the alternative fuel tax credit for CTL development for three more years. To qualify, developers will need to demonstrate that they can capture 50 percent of the carbon emissions from a CTL facility over the next two years; then 75 percent by 2010. The Farm Bill is a major agricultural assistance bill that included tax incentives aimed at spurring rural development that includes tax incentives aimed at other alternative fuel research, such as ethanol and other biofuels, natural gas and wind power. Earlier this year, Senator Rockefeller worked with his colleagues on the Finance Committee to win a similar endorsement for this plan.

Senator Rockefeller has long-supported efforts that would promote CTL development and believes CTL can and must meet high environmental standards. Currently, he’s working on legislation that would create a Future Fuels Corporation – a large scale joint government and private effort to finally solve carbon capture. Rockefeller noted that the ability to capture industrial carbon emissions will be the challenge of the coming decades and is crucial to addressing the problem of global climate change.

Rockefeller also promoted CTL development in legislation he authored earlier this year to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration. The Senator is advocating for the creation of a national center of excellence to develop coal-to-jet fuel technologies. Rockefeller noted that several countries around the world already use fuels derived from coal with great success -- and the U.S. military has some projects underway, specifically, the Air Force is already testing the use of coal-based jet fuels.

The Farm Bill now goes to the U.S. House of Representatives for its consideration.