Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: The Fiction of Clean Coal

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"Coal cannot be clean," Jim Cramer told viewers of his "Mad Money" TV show Thursday.

When both presidential candidates tout "clean coal" as an answer to the nation's energy problems, they are indulging in "magical thinking," he said.

He said the true promise of "clean coal" is to remove or at least reduce carbon dioxide emissions, but no company has that technology yet. He said such technology is anywhere from three to 10 years away.

Meanwhile, he said, the smarter, more pragmatic approach would be to focus on incremental solutions to make coal cleaner. Specifically, he noted current technologies such as scrubbers and boilers, which can remove much of the sulfur, nitrogen and mercury from coal.

He said the best play on cleaner coal technology is Foster Wheeler (FWLT - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), a stock which he owns for his charitable trust, Action Alerts PLUS. The company is a leader in coal fluidization boilers that can remove 95% of the sulfur from coal.

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Cramer last interviewed Foster's CEO on May 7. Since then, the stock is up 14%. "It's not done going up," he said. With energy demands expected to grow 40% between 2005 and 2030, Foster is positioned to be a leader in that growth, he noted.

Foster Wheeler also has exposure to the liquefied natural gas business, which is expected to grow from an $8.7 billion business to a $25.4 billion business by 2011. Cramer urged viewers to not believe the "clean" coal hype, but to instead invest in "cleaner" coal with Foster Wheeler.

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