CONSOL Energy Demonstrates Two Clean Power Generation Technologies Using Alternative Fuels

PITTSBURGH, Jan. 11  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CNX), along with several partners, has successfully demonstrated two clean power generation technologies which make use of alternative fuels, including coal waste and coal-based methane, a greenhouse gas.

"Along with all of our partners, CONSOL Energy is extremely pleased with the performance and potential applications of these technologies," said J. Brett Harvey, CONSOL Energy president and chief executive officer. "With demand for electricity anticipated to grow during the next decade, we believe these clean power technologies, and others like them, will help to meet that demand while controlling emissions of greenhouse gases.

"Our goal is to be a major stakeholder in such projects to ensure the environmentally sound and efficient use of coal, methane gas and alternative fuels."

Kathleen McGinty, Secretary of Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), attended a dedication ceremony today for the technologies at the South Park (Pa.) facilities of CONSOL Energy's Research and Development Group, which is overseeing both projects.

One of the projects is the pilot-scale test facility of PFBC (Pressurized Fluidized Bed Combustion) Environmental Energy Technology Inc.'s (PFBC-EET) clean coal technology system used to generate power from waste coal and other fuels. This pilot project is located at CONSOL Energy's R&D facilities and received a $1.64 million grant from the Pennsylvania DEP.

The second project is a first-of-a-kind, micro-turbine generator configured to use unprocessed coal mine methane gas directly from an underground source to generate electricity. The micro-turbine was installed as part of a Pennsylvania DEP project grant awarded to CONSOL Energy R&D -- in conjunction with CNX Gas Corporation (NYSE:CXG), majority owned by CONSOL Energy -- and is being tested at CONSOL Energy's Bailey underground mine in western Greene County, Pa.

"Governor Rendell's energy and economic development initiatives are leveraging state and private funding to turn our environmental problems into business opportunities that create jobs and enhance the profitability of Pennsylvania companies," Secretary McGinty said. "Companies like CONSOL Energy are leading the way toward Pennsylvania's energy future, and Governor Rendell and I salute them for their vision and leadership."

CONSOL Energy worked with the PFBC-EET project team to help with the design and construction of a Process Test Facility (PTF) as part of Phase I (Test Facility Construction/Commissioning) of the project. The PTF is capable of burning a wide variety of Pennsylvania waste coals with the objective of providing the necessary combustion and emissions data needed to design and build commercial-scale pressurized fluidized bed, electricity-generating units.

Construction of the PFBC's pilot-test facility was completed last year, with a successful initial test burn of a coal-waste fuel conducted in December.

"Among the environmental benefits in using this technology are the reduction of emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide resulting from coal combustion," said Doug Farnham, president of PFBC-EET, which is based in Monessen, Pa. "The PFBC technology can utilize very low heat-value, wet fuels, such as waste coal, which will assist in the cleanup of coal waste impoundments around the commonwealth, and elsewhere, eliminating another environmental problem.

"In addition, the waste byproduct is benign and can be easily backfilled or used in commercial applications, such as cement, road aggregate and a variety of building materials."

Farnham also pointed out the economic impact of the technology on a commercial scale. He explained that each commercial facility would employ "about 1,000 workers during construction and 150 full-time operating and maintenance personnel."

The PFBC technology currently is deployed on a commercial scale in several countries, including Sweden and Japan. Both countries maintain some of the strictest emission standards in the world, and have permitted the operation of six such plants.

For the micro-turbine project, CONSOL Energy partnered with CNX Gas Corporation and Ingersoll Rand Energy Systems to install this first-of-a-kind unit. Sited at CONSOL Energy's Bailey Mine, one of the largest underground coal mines in the world, the unit uses coal mine methane liberated directly from the underground workings to generate electricity.

"We've been able to demonstrate that this unit is an innovative way to harvest and use a greenhouse gas which would normally be vented into the atmosphere," said Nick DeIuliis, president and chief executive officer, CNX Gas Corporation. "If the economic evaluation is positive, this technology can be applied in coalfields either in isolated areas which may lack access to electricity transmission lines or at individual commercial power generation sites."

The first project of its kind in the world, the micro-turbine unit -- a small, mobile electricity generator designed and built by Ingersoll Rand Energy Systems and modified for the project by CONSOL Energy R&D -- produces about 70 kilowatts of electricity, which is then used by the Bailey Mine operations. Use of the unit will recover an otherwise lost resource and will help to curb greenhouse gas and carbon emissions, according to CONSOL Energy R&D researchers.

CONSOL Energy will donate the monetary value of the electricity generated during the first full year of operation of the micro-turbine to the West Greene School District.

CONSOL Energy Inc., a member of the Standard & Poor's 500 Equity Index, has annual revenues of $3.8 billion. It has 15 bituminous coal mining complexes in six states. In addition, the company is a majority shareholder in one of the largest U.S. producers of coal bed methane gas, CNX Gas Corporation.  CONSOL Energy was named one of America's most admired companies in 2005 by Fortune magazine. It received the U.S. Department of the Interior's Office of Surface Mining National Award for Excellence in Surface Mining for the company's innovative reclamation practices in 2002, 2003 and 2004. Also in 2003, the company was listed in Information Week magazine's "Information Week 500" list for its information technology operations. In 2002, the company received a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Climate Protection Award. Additional information about the company can be found at its web site: http://www.consolenergy.com/.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this news release regarding CONSOL Energy's business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report or Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year. 

DATASOURCE: CONSOL Energy Inc.



CONTACT:  Joseph A. Cerenzia of CONSOL Energy Inc., [phone]



Web site:  http://www.consolenergy.com/

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