NRG Energy (NRG -1.99%) could save the coal industry single-handedly in the United States, and in more ways than one. The company is looking to invest $1 billion in carbon capture technology that -- if economical -- could extend the life of carbon belching coal plants across the US. Considering the costs that Duke Energy (DUK -1.68%) and Southern Company (SO -1.60%) have incurred with their cleaner coal alternatives, this experiment at NRG could be the last gasp hope for coal-fired generation plants.

What makes this experiment so intriguing isn't that it will simply remove carbon emissions from coal plants, but it will turn it into an industrial grade gas to serve an extremely constrained market. Find out how captured carbon could be a savior for both coal and oil and gas specialists such has Denbury Resources (NYSE: DNR) by tuning into the video below.