MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) - West Virginia Congressman Evan Jenkins says funding would continue next year for research on fossil fuels as well as 600 National Energy Technology Laboratory jobs in Morgantown in the spending bill recently passed by the House.
Jenkins, visiting the lab Tuesday, says the $666 million for fiscal 2018 for advanced coal, oil and natural gas research has been threatened by other congressmen trying to apply it elsewhere. The fiscal year begins in October.
As an Appropriations Committee member, he says he added a provision to prohibit the Department of Energy from shutting down the lab’s facilities in Morgantown and Pittsburgh.
The lab studies include ways to capture and sequester carbon dioxide from coal burning, harvesting rare earth elements from coal byproducts and reducing methane emissions in natural gas drilling, processing and pipelines.
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