FutureGen aims to slash greenhouse gas emissions
28 Feb 2003
The US Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham has announced plans for the US to build FutureGen, a $1 billion environmentally friendly prototype fossil fuel power plant.
FutureGen will combine electricity and hydrogen production with the virtual elimination of harmful emissions, including greenhouse gases.
'FutureGen will be one of the boldest steps our nation has taken toward a pollution-free energy future,' said Secretary Abraham. 'Knowledge from FutureGen will help turn coal from an environmentally challenging energy resource into an environmentally benign one. The prototype power plant will serve as the test bed for demonstrating the best technologies the world has to offer.'
The US Energy Department will ask the power industry to organise a consortium to manage the project, with the Federal Government providing 50 percent of the costs.
Although current plans call for the plant to designed and built over the next five years, then operated for at least five years beyond that, the department envisions the project serving as a test bed for new technologies well into the coming decade.
The government will ask the industrial consortium to design a plant that will turn coal into a hydrogen-rich gas, rather than burning it directly. The hydrogen could then be combusted in a turbine or used in a fuel cell to produce clean electricity, or it could be fed to a refinery to help upgrade petroleum products.
Common air pollutants such as sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides would be cleaned from the coal gases and converted to useable by-products such as fertilisers and soil enhancers. Mercury pollutants would also be removed. Carbon dioxide would be captured and sequestered in deep underground geologic formations.
Carbon sequestration will be one of the primary features that will set the prototype plant apart from other electric power projects. Engineers will be asked to design advanced capabilities into the plant to capture the carbon dioxide in a form that can be sequestered.
The initial goal will be to capture at least 90 percent of the plant's carbon dioxide, but with advanced technologies, it may be possible to achieve nearly 100 percent capture.
Once captured, the carbon dioxide will be injected deep underground. Once trapped, the greenhouse gas would be permanently isolated from the atmosphere.
The plant would be sized to generate approximately 275 megawatts of electricity, roughly equivalent to an average mid-size coal-fired power plant.
Finally, the department said, the prototype plant would be a stepping stone toward a future coal-fired power plant that not only would be emission-free but would operate at unprecedented fuel efficiencies. Technologies that could be future candidates for testing at the prototype plant could push electric power generating efficiencies to 60 percent or more - nearly double the efficiencies of today's conventional coal-burning plants.
For more information, visit <A HREF='http://fossil.energy.gov/coal_power/integratedprototype/futuregen_factsheet.pdf'>FutureGen Factsheet</A>
