ENERGY MATTERS: Lignite Energy Council's VP of Research and Development Mike Holmes

Mike Holmes, Vice President of research and development for the Lignite Energy Council, joins the show to talk about the three lignite research and development projects that were recently approved to receive state money, which will be leveraged with money from lignite industry participants. The state/industry R&D partnership has been going on since 1987. The state has invested more than $60 million in lignite research funds. Total investment in more than 200-plus projects is in excess of $700 million. Besides state dollars, R&D funding also comes from industry sources such as mines and utilities, research entities, such as the Energy & Environmental Research Center, and the Department of Energy. The state money comes from taxes paid by the industry through coal severance and coal conversion taxes.