A new tax credit program will help local electricity generation plants that use coal refuse to create electricity.

The Coal Refuse Energy and Reclamation Tax Credit Program will assist companies such as Panther Creek Energy in Nesquehoning with its operations by providing a $4 per ton tax credit for using coal refuse in its operations.In the 2016-17 state budget, $7.5 million in tax credits will be available to companies in this industry. The number will increase to $10 million in the 2017-18 fiscal year.No company will be eligible for more than 22.2 percent of credits available in a given year.Matthew Cochran, asset manager at Panther Creek, said the new program allows the company to go after fuel that would otherwise be unreachable in regard to distance.Panther Creek uses culm or coal refuse to create electricity and also reclaim thousands of acres of land that were once covered by coal piles from former mining operations long shut down.In addition, the process cuts down on the possibilities of mine fires in culm banks and helps the communities because it removes acidic mine fluid from the lands and re-creates green space.He said that the bipartisan effort in the state Legislature really helped the industry and thanked them for making the program a reality."The Coal Refuse and Reclamation Tax Credit will have a profound impact on Pennsylvania's economy and environment," said state Sen. John Yudichak, D-Carbon. "Coal refuse generation plants, like Panther Creek Energy in Nesquehoning, can leverage these tax credits with private sector funds to create more jobs, reclaim more land and produce more affordable electricity."The coal refuse electric generation and reclamation industry employs 3,800 people, and the generation plants combined create 1,500 megawatts of renewable energy.The industry has also removed approximately 200 million tons of refuse coal from lands once used for mining in Pennsylvania."Panther Creek Energy and the coal refuse remediation industry are greatly appreciative of the General Assembly's passage and the governor's signing of the Coal Refuse Energy Tax Credit legislation," said Sean Lane, a representative from Olympus Power LLC, owner of Panther Creek Energy, in a statement. "This signifies a deepening of the commonwealth's commitment to support an industry that cleans up the coal refuse piles in the anthracite and bituminous regions of our state."The program is also evidence of the continuation of our partnership with Pennsylvania as we address the environmental, human health and safety hazards posed by the refuse piles littering the commonwealth."Cochran said that operations at Panther Creek have picked up again. The plant had temporarily shut down beginning in March as a result of plummeting energy prices due to an overabundance of natural gas in the state."We have been operating since the middle of June," Cochran said, "and will continue to run as long as power prices are healthy."