You Don’t Need Oil To Make Fuel

Coal-to-Liquids (CTL) has always been dabbled with as a viable energy alternative in the U.S.--always concurrent with steep crude oil prices and always dismissed when those high prices for crude subside. Now that the general public is getting acclimated to the notion of a $70+ per barrel of oil world, CTL interest is back.

As this article cites, the main obstacle in producing CTL has always been production cost, which is currently around $35 per barrel. Beyond that, CTL is a cleaner alternative to oil and coal is something that the U.S. has plenty of, which suprisingly pleases lobbyists and politicians on both sides of the political fence.

The link takes you to the Mother Jones website; the article is a commentary from Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, from November 7, 2005.

http://www.mojones.com/commentary/columns/2005/11/synfuel.html