The Secretary shall conduct a program of research, development, demonstration, and commercial application for coal refining technologies.

The program shall include technologies for refining high sulfur coals, low sulfur coals, sub-bituminous coals, and lignites to produce clean-burning transportation fuels, compliance boiler fuels, fuel additives, lubricants, chemical feedstocks, and carbon-based manufactured products, either alone or in conjunction with the generation of electricity or process heat, or the manufacture of a variety of products from coal. The objectives of such program shall be to achieve—

(1) the timely commercial application of technologies, including mild gasification, hydrocracking and other hydropyrolysis processes, and other energy production processes or systems to produce coal-derived fuels and coproducts, which achieve greater efficiency and economy in the conversion of coal to electrical energy and coproducts than currently available technology;

(2) the production of energy, fuels, and products which, on a complete energy system basis, will result in environmental emissions no greater than those produced by existing comparable energy systems utilized for the same purpose;

(3) the capability to produce a range of coal-derived transportation fuels, including oxygenated hydrocarbons, boiler fuels, turbine fuels, and coproducts, which can reduce dependence on imported oil by displacing conventional petroleum in the transportation sector and other sectors of the economy;

(4) reduction in the cost of producing such coal-derived fuels and coproducts;

(5) the control of emissions from the combustion of coal-derived fuels; and

(6) the availability for commercial use of such technologies by the year 2000.

(Pub. L. 102–486, title XIII, § 1305, Oct. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 2973.)