§15977 Department of Energy Transportation Fuels From Illinois Basin Coal

Summary

The Secretary must run a program to test whether advanced methods can make Fischer-Tropsch and other transportation fuels from Illinois Basin coal. To do this, the Secretary must support using, modifying, or building facilities at Southern Illinois University Coal Research Center, the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research, and the Energy Center at Purdue University. The Secretary must also build a test center to check liquid and gas products from syngas catalysis that can produce at least 500 gallons of Fischer-Tropsch transportation fuel per day in a 24-hour run. The Secretary must pick which processes to test within 180 days after August 8, 2005, offer agreements for the work and for facility changes within 1 year after that date, and begin the evaluations at the listed sites within 3 years after that date. Construction must be done at the lowest cost practicable. The Secretary may give grants or sign contracts with the named universities. Cost sharing follows section 16352. Up to $85,000,000 is authorized for fiscal years 2006 through 2010.