Twin River Energy announced today the company has selected Potomac Hudson Engineering, Inc. to study the carbon life cycle of its energy production process.

"The study will be a com-prehensive `mine to wheels' analysis of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions beginning directly from harvesting the coal to plant production and the ultimate emissions of its ultra clean FT Diesel fuel out of the consumers' tailpipes. The company plans to have the results complete in time for the Chewonki Foundation's Carbon Capture and Storage Seminar scheduled for October 24.

"It's very important to us that people make decisions based on honest and accurate information," Scott Houldin, Project Manager for the Twin River Energy Center said. "We're spending significant resources and have hired one of the best consultants in the country to provide accurate CO 2 information that is specific to our project. It just isn't accurate or helpful to anybody to compare the Twin River project to older and very different facilities. Doing so robs Wiscasset voters and any interested party of honest factual information."

Houldin said the company hired Potomac Hudson to evaluate the life cycle emissions "because of their expertise and tremendous knowledge of CO 2 analysis."

"The analysis will be based on the exact specifications of the proposed Twin River Energy Center plant design. It will be the first analysis to address the impacts of building such a facility in New England and will include a discussion of options for CO 2 reuse and geologic storage. The CO 2 emissions from the proposed Twin River Energy Center will be compared with that of traditional electric power plants and oil refineries.

"We're excited about conducting this independent study, particularly in light of the upcoming seminar at Chewonki," said Sarah Forbes, Senior Environmental Scientist and Climate Change Specialist for Potomac Hudson. "The future of America's energy production has local, regional and global implications on so many levels. This study will help decision makers and local citizens tremendously."

Houldin said Forbes will lead the study project. Forbes is "a very experienced and highly credentialed professional on the subject of CO 2 and therefore best suited to lead the independent study," Houldin said. Her publications include work on regulatory barriers for carbon capture and storage, its role in state climate change activities and guidelines for reporting carbon capture and storage projects as greenhouse gas reductions. She previously led the education and outreach efforts for the Department of Energy's Carbon Sequestration Research Program and regional partnership effort and was on the strategic programmatic development team.

"We feel very strongly that clean coal gasification is the next wave of responsible technology and will stand on its own merits as en-vironmentally and economically superior to what is being used all over the country today," Houldin said.

"If we weren't as confident as we are, we wouldn't spend this kind of money to conduct the study and sponsor half the cost of the Chewonki seminar, which opens ourselves and this project up to a very high level of independent public scutiny. We're that confident this technology is America's future."