The Gilberton Coal Liquefaction Project took another step foreword when it was revealed that essentially all of the fuel produced by the plant would be purchased under an agreement with the state of Pennsylvania. This follows an announcement in July that language in the Energy bill had authorized financing for the nation’s first clean coal-to-liquid fuel plant. Previously Waste Management and Processors, Inc., (WMPI) had announced agreements with SASOL to use their Fischer-Tropsch liquefaction process and with Shell Global Solutions U.S. for possible use of their gasification technology. In addition to Shell and SASOL the project team includes Nextant, a Bechtel Corporation affiliate and Uhde, an engineering company and Shell gasification technology supplier and contractor. Ground breaking is scheduled for next spring with operation to follow in 30 months.