Liveblogging from the W.Va. Energy Summit

Gov. Joe Manchin is hosting officials from industry and 10 other states at Stonewall Resort today for a daylong summit on U.S. energy policy, "Advancing Domestic Resources in an Era of Carbon Challenges."

Participants include: Gov. Dave Freudenthal of Wyoming, the nation's leading coal producer and one of its major sources of natural gas; Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, whose state mines coal and is also a top provider of hydroelectic power; and Gov.-elect Steve Beshear of eastern coal producer Kentucky.

As The Associated Press reports, a central theme of the summit is that "as long as coal remains this country's most abundant fossil fuel, it must play a central role in U.S. policy."

To varying degrees, speakers have acknowledged the case against coal: the carbon dioxide emitted when it is burned, the toll of mountaintop removal mining. But the goal of the summit is to confront those concerns, rally coal's supporters and win over Congress.

To achieve that, several presentations have outlined ways to reduce pollution from coal, such as carbon sequestration and coal gasification. "But speakers were also candid about the costs, technological hurdles and environmental shortcomings of these options," the AP article said.

Speakers include officials from American Electric Power, the National Energy Technology Laboratory, AIG, the Southern States Energy Board and CNX Gas Corp.

Update: Others with coverage include Public Broadcasting, MetroNews (with audio) and The Charleston Gazette.