42 U.S.C. § 13333 — Clean coal, waste-to-energy

The Secretary of Energy must set up a program of research, development, demonstration, and commercial use for burning solid waste combined with coal as fuel, using clean coal combustion technology. The program must address: (1) whether it is possible to burn coal and used vehicle tires together in fluidized bed combustion units — special furnaces that mix fuel with sand-like material kept aloft by air; (2) combining the gasification of coal and municipal sludge using integrated gasification combined cycle technology, a process that turns fuel into gas before burning it to produce power; (3) making fuel pellets that combine coal with material reclaimed from solid waste; (4) whether it is possible to burn, in fluidized bed combustion units, waste methane from coal mines — including air vented from mine ventilation systems — together with coal or coal waste; and (5) other combinations of waste and coal in other uses that the Secretary considers appropriate.