Some pretty exciting news from our partner on the Ohio Valley careers Web site.  The Regional Economic Development Partnership (RED) today announced some pretty big news.

The nation’s first coal-to-liquid (CTL) plant will be constructed here in the Ohio Valley in Marshall County at Benwood, WV.  It’s a joint effort between CONSOL Energy and Synthesis Energy Systems (SES).  It’s expected to mean 300-500 construction jobs for Ohio Valley residents.  After the ctl plant is built, it should mean 60 full time hires for its operation.  Here’s an excerpt from the official announcement:

CONSOL, the nation’s largest producer of bituminous coal, and SES, a global industrial gasification company, intend to develop through a joint venture, their first U. S. coal gasification and liquefaction plant in West Virginia — an $800 million investment. The boards of directors of CONSOL and SES have authorized funds for development activities, including the front-end engineering design (“FEED”) package. Each member company will contribute equally to this phase of the project. CONSOL and SES have formed Northern Appalachia Fuel LLC (NAF) as the company through which the development will occur.

“This project has the potential to transform West Virginia from a major coal-producing state to a national energy center as well,” said J. Brett Harvey, president and CEO of CONSOL Energy. “By converting some of our region’s abundant, high-Btu coal into gases and liquids, not only will we create economic value for the state, but we will help West Virginia become the linchpin of American energy security,” Harvey said.

Tim Vail, president and CEO of SES, said he is proud of the progress toward development of the plant and that they appreciate the state’s and RED’s support. “Together with our partner, CONSOL Energy, we will be taking a first step toward securing energy independence in the U.S. as we convert raw and residual coal from CONSOL’s Shoemaker mine and plant into gasoline in an environmentally responsible and cost-efficient manner.”

I’m not going to get into the issue of CTL and energy.  I don’t know enough about the subject to determine its viability and don’t want to touch the issue of green energy and spark some sort of riot.

Let’s just look at some things this announcement means:

• The Ohio Valley (and West Virginia) is going to be at the forefront of technology in a category.
• It’s going to mean some good jobs for folks both during construction and in its operation.
• The CTL plant can be used as another piece in the pie to attract more businesses to the area.
• The Ohio Valley’s economy gets diversified, something we’re in need of.

To paraphrase one commenter on a local message board, let’s focus on the positives of this announcement for a day and give credit to CONSOL, SES, RED and all the folks that helped make it happen.

Update: You can learn more about the project, process, and parties involved in this new CTL plant on RED’s Web site.

Tags: benwood wv, coal to liquid, factory jobs, good place to relocate a business, ohio valley careers