WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. - President George W. Bush touted coal during a speech at The Greenbrier hotel on Thursday, but didn't stop there, as he promoted virtually every means of domestic power production as a pathway to energy independence.

"There is no more reliable source of electricity than coal," Bush told the crowd of about 450 people gathered for the West Virginia Coal Association's annual meeting.

"Coal is affordable. Coal is available right here. And coal provides jobs," he said.

During his 30-minute speech, Bush strongly advocated building nuclear power plants, drilling for oil in Alaska and offshore on the Outer Continental Shelf, tapping into oil shale reserves in the Rocky Mountains, using corn and other organic sources to produce ethanol, and building more plants to change coal to liquids and gases.

"The president told me that the cost of fuel is putting a real dent in the White House budget," said Rep. Nick J. Rahall, D-W.Va., who accompanied Bush on his trip to West Virginia.

"I told him it was time to start flying Air Force One on coal-to-

liquids."

During his speech, Bush repeatedly criticized government regulations, lawsuits and the Democratic-controlled Congress as impediments to energy independence.

"People in the environmental community ought to be supporting nuclear power," Bush said. "But it is hard to get a plant built because of regulations and lawsuits."

When he introduced Bush, coal and timber operator James "Buck" Harless mentioned the close presidential election in 2000 when West Virginia's electoral college votes could have reversed the election.

"Thanks to a lot of you in this room, he got the five votes which let him cross the finish line. We were with him then. We are with him today," said Harless, who is chairman of International Industries.

Reacting to Harless, Bush said, "I am fixing to retire in about six months. But I will sprint to the finish. We need common sense about today's energy needs and future energy needs."

Stressing that the "foundations of this economy are strong," Bush said his administration has helped future energy independence.

"We have spent $2.5 billion in clean coal technology. This year, we will spend $650 million for advanced coal research, the largest amount in 25 years."

But Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., issued a statement on Thursday criticizing Bush's "rhetoric" about clean coal technology.

"If President Bush had pursued the right energy policies and made the investments in clean coal technology that he promised eight years ago, he might not be talking in West Virginia about high gasoline prices today."

During his speech, Bush criticized Democrats for undermining his proposals to drill offshore.

"Congress has restricted access to the Outer Continental Shelf since the 1980s. I asked Congress to lift the offshore ban in June. For six weeks, Democratic leaders have not done anything."

Byrd said Bush's "proposal to lift the moratorium on Outer Continental Shelf drilling is nothing more than a transparent election-year gimmick intended to quiet the understandable anger of voters over the high price of gasoline.

"Such drilling will have no impact on gas prices in the near-term and will result in even larger profits for big oil companies like Exxon, which today posted the largest quarterly profit of any corporation in U.S. history."

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. - President George W. Bush touted coal during a speech at The Greenbrier hotel on Thursday, but didn't stop there, as he promoted virtually every means of domestic power production as a pathway to energy independence.

"There is no more reliable source of electricity than coal," Bush told the crowd of about 450 people gathered for the West Virginia Coal Association's annual meeting.

"Coal is affordable. Coal is available right here. And coal provides jobs," he said.

During his 30-minute speech, Bush strongly advocated building nuclear power plants, drilling for oil in Alaska and offshore on the Outer Continental Shelf, tapping into oil shale reserves in the Rocky Mountains, using corn and other organic sources to produce ethanol, and building more plants to change coal to liquids and gases.

"The president told me that the cost of fuel is putting a real dent in the White House budget," said Rep. Nick J. Rahall, D-W.Va., who accompanied Bush on his trip to West Virginia.

"I told him it was time to start flying Air Force One on coal-to-

liquids."

During his speech, Bush repeatedly criticized government regulations, lawsuits and the Democratic-controlled Congress as impediments to energy independence.

"People in the environmental community ought to be supporting nuclear power," Bush said. "But it is hard to get a plant built because of regulations and lawsuits."

When he introduced Bush, coal and timber operator James "Buck" Harless mentioned the close presidential election in 2000 when West Virginia's electoral college votes could have reversed the election.

"Thanks to a lot of you in this room, he got the five votes which let him cross the finish line. We were with him then. We are with him today," said Harless, who is chairman of International Industries.

Reacting to Harless, Bush said, "I am fixing to retire in about six months. But I will sprint to the finish. We need common sense about today's energy needs and future energy needs."

Stressing that the "foundations of this economy are strong," Bush said his administration has helped future energy independence.

"We have spent $2.5 billion in clean coal technology. This year, we will spend $650 million for advanced coal research, the largest amount in 25 years."

But Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., issued a statement on Thursday criticizing Bush's "rhetoric" about clean coal technology.

"If President Bush had pursued the right energy policies and made the investments in clean coal technology that he promised eight years ago, he might not be talking in West Virginia about high gasoline prices today."

During his speech, Bush criticized Democrats for undermining his proposals to drill offshore.

"Congress has restricted access to the Outer Continental Shelf since the 1980s. I asked Congress to lift the offshore ban in June. For six weeks, Democratic leaders have not done anything."

Byrd said Bush's "proposal to lift the moratorium on Outer Continental Shelf drilling is nothing more than a transparent election-year gimmick intended to quiet the understandable anger of voters over the high price of gasoline.

"Such drilling will have no impact on gas prices in the near-term and will result in even larger profits for big oil companies like Exxon, which today posted the largest quarterly profit of any corporation in U.S. history."

Bush also proposed "tapping into oil shale reserves in the Rocky Mountain West," stating that could "produce as much oil as we use for a century.

"But you can't lease oil shale [to private producers] on federal land," he said. "That provision was slipped in [federal law]. It can be slipped out. We also ought to drill for oil in Alaska."

Byrd said, "Simply opening more land to drilling does not fix our problem. Oil is a finite resource, and once it's gone, it's gone forever. The only consequence of the president's proposal would be to postpone any real effort to wean this country from dependence on foreign oil."

Bush believes nuclear power plants might be a major new source of electric power in the foreseeable future.

"We have not had one new nuclear power plant built in 30 years," Bush said. "But we already have received applications to build 18 new nuclear power plants and we anticipate another seven applications in the near future. ...

"We also haven't built an oil refinery in America for 30 years," Bush said. "There are typically a lot of regulatory burdens. We need to expedite the regulating process and send a signal to the world that the United States is going after these reserves in America."

Bush joked while supporting wind power programs.

"We ought to be putting wind turbines in Washington, particular [turbines] that use hot air. This country has already installed more wind power plants than any other country in the world."

Throughout his talk, Bush stressed the need for "a variety of sources for power" to counter high gas prices.

"Demand for oil in a remote part of the world can affect gas prices right here in West Virginia," especially from "growing economies in countries like China and India."

Bush is also a major backer of producing ethanol from corn - a process drawing increasing criticism across the political spectrum, especially from analysts who believe corn-based ethanol actually generates more environmental problems than burning coal.

"I am a big believer in ethanol," Bush said, admitting that many critics argue rapidly rising corn costs hurt other farmers and the general population.

"If you're a chicken raiser, you are not happy now. If you are a hog raiser, you are paying more [for corn]."

Bush suggested it might be better to produce "cellulistic ethanol" from other organic sources, such as wood chips. "You got a lot of wood here in West Virginia."

Andrew Jordon of Pritchard Mining, chairman of the West Virginia Coal Association's board, said, "We are proud the president took time to speak here today about how important it is to minimize our dependency on foreign fuels and oil."

John Wellford, another Coal Association board member who owns NorthGate Business Park in Charleston, said Bush's speech "outlined energy policies that will allow prosperity in the country in the coming years.

"If we do not use all our [energy] resources domestically to solve these problems, we will become puppets of other energy-rich countries in the world."

Wellford believes using more domestic energy sources would have a major impact in eliminating our growing national trade deficit.

Reach Paul J. Nyden at pjny...@wvgazette.com or 348-5164.