Bart J. Hyita, senior vice president of coal operations support for CONSOL Energy Inc., and David Satterfield, director of the West Virginia Development Office, will be the headline speakers for the next Energy Roadmap Workshop at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 22, at West Virginia University’s National Research Center for Coal and Energy (NRCCE).

The focus topic for this third workshop in the four-part series on coal will be clean coal utilization technologies. Workshop sponsors include the NRCCE , the West Virginia Coal Forum and the West Virginia Development Office

This workshop could not be timelier, given the recent news about American Electric Power, CONSOL and FirstEnergy,said workshop organizer and director of the NRCCE , Richard A. Bajura.

Earlier this month, news reports said American Electric Power Co. would build an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plant somewhere in its eastern operations. One day later, Consol Energy Inc. and FirstEnergy Corp. announced they had put together a task force to look at advanced coal technologies, including IGCC technology.

IGCC is one of the cleanest coal technologies available and can be used to generate power along with hydrogen, liquid transportation fuels, or other chemicals simultaneously, unlike traditional power plants.

The purpose of the three-session workshop is to share information about current and future clean coal technology opportunities and generate ideas for moving West Virginia forward as a leader in energy, said co-organizer Chris Hamilton of the West Virginia Coal Forum and the West Virginia Coal Association.

The first session will focus on advanced technologies for energy generation from coal for electric power, hydrogen and liquid transportation fuels.

The second session will focus on zero emissions coal technologies including the capture and storage of carbon dioxide, the management of water and the development of coal ash and other combustion byproducts.

The third session will present opportunities for West Virginia including FutureGen, a $1 billion program to demonstrate a zero-emissions electricity and hydrogen production plant using coal, and regional carbon sequestration partnerships to capture and store carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. The session will also include perspectives from academia and labor regarding the development of advanced coal technologies.

Session panelists include AEP -Appalachian Power Co. Vice President Mark Dempsey and CONSOL Energy’s Vice President for Research Frank Burke; Chris Colbert of GenPower, developers of the proposed Longview Plant in Monongalia County; Gene Coccari of the West Virginia Division of Air Quality; Robert Bedick, John Winslow and Scott Klara of the National Energy Technology Laboratory where the nation’s clean coal power initiative is headquartered; John Rich of Gilberton Industries whose company plans to demonstrate the production of diesel fuel from coal; Jeff Herholdt who manages energy programs for the West Virginia Development Office; Paul Ziemkiewicz, Joe Donovan, Carl Irwin and Trina Wafle of the WVU NRCCE ; Patrick Esposito of Augusta Systems who headed the Governor’s Energy Task Force; and Ted Hapney of the United Mine Workers of America.

The public is welcome. The workshop will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. followed by an open house reception celebrating the NRCCE ’s 25th anniversary.

Workshop registration is $35 for those who pre-register and $45 at the door. The open house is free. On-site registration will open at 8:30 a.m. Agenda, lodging and parking information, and online pre-registration are available at www.WVEnergyRoadmapWorkshops.org .