National Coal Resource Assessment
Provide easily accessible geospatial information on the location, quantity, availability, recoverability, and economics of the highest quality American coal and assess coal beds and coal resources for specific uses, such as carbon sequestration, synfuels, coalbed methane, potential National Park or Monument designation, or BLM leasing.
Project Chief: Brenda Pierce
Website: http://energy.er.usgs.gov/NCRA/
Fact Sheet: FS-020-01 March 2001

Energy Resource Framework of the Central Appalachian Basin
Advances in oil, gas, and coal assessment methodology require detailed understanding of the distribution and characterization of economic fossil fuels and the processes that form them. This increased understanding supports and greatly enhances future energy resource assessments and helps delimit the type and amount of data that must be captured to model energy resources successfully. This project focuses on the Appalachian Basin, a mature, fossil-fuel-rich basin by combining select geologic data into a common GIS spatial framework for integrated geologic interpretations. The information developed in this project will result in interpretive energy resource models for utilization by future energy resource assessments, including the National Oil and Gas Assessment (NOGA) (especially for coalbed methane and deep-gas resources) and the National Coal Resource Assessment (NCRA).
Project Chief: Leslie F. Ruppert
Website: http://energy.er.usgs.gov/NCRA/Appalachian . . .
Fact Sheets: FS-004-02 & FS-013-02 February 2002

Coal Resource Assessment Methodology
Coal is one of the major energy sources of the United States and produces more than 50 percent of the electricity in this country. Modern digital assessments of the Nation's resources, including quantity, quality, location (for example, Federal lands), accessibility, and related interpretive research are vital to land-use managers, other Federal agencies, non-profit groups, and industry in order to make informed decisions on the use of the country's indigenous resources. USGS National Coal Resource Assessment (NCRA) results provide the digital GIS base for future assessments and research in coal. These GIS data also provide the basis for study of the economics and the ecologic impact of fossil fuel usage, water quality, potential coal utilization, and coal quality. In addition, integrated data compiled for coal resource assessments aid in exploration and subsequent assessments of coalbed methane. This project considers directions for future assessments, identifies future priority areas or beds, refines assessment methodology, and integrates coal resource and coal quality data.
Project Chief: James Luppens
Website:
Fact Sheets:

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Coal Resource State Cooperative Partnerships
Federal, State, and regional planners require credible, understandable, and standardized information on the location, quantity, quality, and availability of coal resources in the United States to use as the basis for optimum energy development and utilization policies. USGS partnerships with state agencies maximize available resources to gather and analyze data used to estimate coal resources. Estimation of coal resources in the United States is part of the mission of the USGS and has been part of the Energy Resources Program and its predecessor programs for more than 100 years. This project is the critical core for maintaining basic knowledge of the coal resources in the United States at the USGS.
Project Chief: M. Devereux Carter
Website:
Fact Sheets:

 

Central Energy Team - Coal Page
Coal Topics, Databases, and related information including material on the National Coal Assessment and Coal on Federal Lands.

"Clean Coal America's Energy Strength"
The US Department of Energy's Fossil Energy Web Feature on clean coal power technology.

Advanced Coal & Power Research
The Department of Energy's Fossil Energy Advanced Research Program serves as a bridge between basic research and the development of innovative systems capable of improving efficiency and environmental performance while reducing costs of fossil energy systems, both for electric power and liquid fuels production.

COAL: Ancient Gift Serving Modern Man
American Coal Foundation
An electronic field trip to a coal mine, teaching materials from the American Coal Foundation.

Energy Information Administration's (EIA) access energy information - Coal
Official Energy Statistics from the US Government that includes data, charts, tables, and subject areas.

National Energy Technology Laboratory's (NETL) Office of Coal and Environmental Systems
Office that implement a portion of the U.S. Department of Energy's fossil energy programs, by playing a key role in ensuring that coal is sustained as a clean, affordable, and environmentally acceptable resource for our nation's electric energy needs.

The National Mining Association (NMA)
is the voice of the American mining industry in Washington, D.C. NMA is the only national trade organization that represents the interests of mining before Congress, the Administration, federal agencies, the judiciary and the media.

The Center for Energy and Economic Development (CEED)
A non-profit group dedicated to protecting the viability of coal-based electricity.