A small green clearing on a hilltop beside the Ohio River doesn't seem like much of campaign stop, but John Baardson knows the scent of alternative energy and undecided voters will lure America's presidential contenders before long.

"McCain has already called and expressed interest, and we believe Obama will too," said the president and chief executive of Baard Energy.

Before Americans go to the polls in November to choose Republican John McCain or Democrat Barack Obama to be the next US president, Baardson plans to break ground on a $6 billion plant in Wellsville that will turn Appalachian coal into 53,000 barrels a day of diesel and jet fuel.