Bishop’s dream to create coal capital

Mar 25 2010 The Journal

THE Bishop of Durham has backed the North East to again become a heartland for coal in a speech to the House of Lords.

The Rt Rev Tom Wright spoke during the second reading of the Energy Bill in the Lords in which he said coal could create new jobs for the region.

The Bill, currently going through Parliament, looks to promote cleaner methods of using coal to produce energy with the aim of setting targets for the reduction of carbon emissions.

It would fund up to four UK carbon capture and storage (CCS) demonstration projects.

In a passionate speech, Rt Rev Wright outlined how the region could benefit from Government backing for “clean coal” technology and backed the work going on in the region to develop underground coal gasification (UCG).

He said: “As may be obvious, I am neither an industrialist nor an economist.

“However, I live in the midst of a proud but somewhat battered old mining community, which still believes doggedly that the coal under its land ought to be used, and used wisely, not least to provide fresh employment. The challenge of underground gasification, though referred to here several times, seems never to have been seriously considered. It is time that it was. We need clean-coal technology, along with renewables and nuclear, and this could be right at the heart of that.”