CHEYENNE - The Senate Minerals Committee on Friday unanimously endorsed a bill to give energy companies tax breaks on construction of coal gasification and liquefaction plants.

Marion Loomis, executive director of the Wyoming Mining Association, told the committee that every other state already offers the sales tax exemption on the construction of such plants.

"Wyoming is the only state in the nation that doesn't offer this type of exemption," Loomis said.

"We're going to be in real serious competition all over the country," Loomis said. As regulations force coal plants around the country to address pollution concerns, he said Wyoming's low-sulfur coal will lose some of the natural advantages it has enjoyed in the marketplace.

Rep. Tom Lockhart, R-Casper, presented the bill to the committee.

"We know that lots of states have significant coal holdings, and those states are doing what they can to develop coal projects in their states," Lockhart said. "This just puts us in a competitive position with them."

While no liquefaction or gasification plants have been built in Wyoming, state officials say energy companies have approached the state about the possibility of building here. In addition, state officials have said they're interested in persuading the U.S. Department of Energy and a consortium of energy companies to locate a planned clean-coal plant in the state.

Dan Noble, of the Wyoming Department of Revenue, prepared an analysis of the bill that says the tax break could cost the state and local governments from $9.3 million up to $62.4 million based on plant construction costs ranging from $300 million up to $2 billion.

Although Wyoming would give up millions of dollars in taxes on plant construction, Loomis said the state would end up ahead within a few years. He said the state would likely receive about $28 million a year in new coal tax revenues as a result of such construction, based on coal costing $15 a ton.

"There's no guarantee we're going to get any of these plants," Loomis said. "If we don't, we haven't lost any money."

Sen. Kit Jennings, R-Casper, said such coal plants can produce a clean diesel fuel. "There's a need for this kind of fuel," he said. "It will help clean up the air."

Dan Neal of the Equality State Policy Center in Casper urged the committee to adopt an amendment to require that any such plants built in the state use technology to reduce air emissions. The committee declined to accept the amendment.