In particular, they would like to see more investment and tax credit-type incentives to spur development of clean coal technology that would allow the capture and storage of greenhouse gases to replace and perhaps retrofit dirty coal-fired power plants.
"The objective is pretty simple: Try to figure out a clean and efficient and secure way to power the economy of the most powerful nation in the world . . . and is good for competitiveness for the long term," said Huntsman during a news conference in Cheyenne, Wyo. "There has to be some sort of bridge to connect the rhetoric with the reality."
Huntsman, a Republican, will meet with Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter and West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin - all Democrats - on Friday to discuss proposals for Congress, including establishing rules for managing greenhouse gases and speeding clean-coal research.
Ritter, noting that Colorado has worked to add renewable wind and solar energy to his state's mix, said coal must continue to provide energy in the United States and expressed "great disappointment" that the federal government has failed to create adequate or appropriate clean-energy policies.
Huntsman said clean coal has become more necessary for a stable energy supply as the nations that have supplied the United States with oil have become dangerous and unreliable. "I believe we're in the predicament we're in because we've relied too long on an easy source of energy," he said.
Changes in Congressional leadership and the federal Energy Department under a new presidential administration could allow for effective policy, Huntsman said. "There are too many loose ends right now," he said.
Ritter said he wanted to work with power suppliers to find out what kind of incentives it would take for them to consider new clean-coal technology rather than burning pulverized coal to create electricity.
Manchin said he hoped for development of retrofit technology that would allow older coal-fired plants to capture and store their carbon dioxide. "It's going to take the federal government working with us," he said.
The governors all said they would most likely embrace what is called Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle, or IGCC, which would allow capture of carbon dioxide from power plants and pumping it underground, often to help recharge depleted oil fields.
Earlier this month, Freudenthal told a congressional committee about the importance of carbon sequestration.
''If we don't do something to assist in the capture of carbon from coal, we'll have neither market forces nor tax incentives for companies to make that investment,'' he said.
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* THE ASSOCIATED PRESS contributed to this story.
