GE backs coal gasification technology
25 Jun 2006
Making the case for IGCC, Krenicki said gas and oil prices had doubled in Europe in just two years while import dependency would reach 70% by 2030. Meanwhile, there is increasing demand for fuels in developing regions, particularly China and India, he added in a 13 June investors presentation.
IGCC plants are increasingly being cited as the best environmental use of coal in operation. High capital costs, however, have so far limited use of the technology to just a few power generation facilities.
However, according to Krenicki, IGCC plants are now highly competitive, producing electricity at costs below that of conventional solid fuel plants.
Analysing the overall costs — capital, operating and fuel — for different type of facility, the GE executive said new-build facilities could produce power from coal at 6.8 cents/kWh. This, he said, compared to 6.6 cents/kWh for gas; 6.2 cents/kWh for wind power; and 4.2 cents/kWh for nuclear power facilities.
The GE Energy leader went on to forecast global capacity additions for all type of power generation of 146 GW on average each year to 2015, including: 59GW based on oil & gas; 35GW coal; 24GW hydro; 21GW renewables; and 8GW nuclear.
Krenicki estimated recoverable coal reserves at 316 million tonnes in Europe and Eurasia, 280 million tonnes in North America, and 126 million tonnes in China. Globally, he added, there are 165 years of coal reserves, compared to 65 years gas and 40 years for oil.
According to GE, meanwhile, SOx, NOx, and particle emissions from its IGCC plants are fractions of those of a conventional pulverised coal boiler power plant. For example, it claims, NOx emissions can be cut to less than 10 ppm, while exhaust gas cleanup is unnecessary as pollutants are removed from the syngas before reaching the turbine.
GE Energy entered the coal gasification arena with its mid-2004 acquisition of ChevronTexaco's gasification technology business, based in Texas. GE is also a leading supplier of gas turbines, and claims to have provided turbines on 60% of the world's operating IGCC plants.
GE’s power sector rival Siemens recently announced that it is acquiring Sustec-Group’s coal-to-electricity technology and engineering activities. The German group is to build a 1000 megawatts (MW) plant employing the technology, which can use fuels based on biomass, petroleum coke and refinery residues, as well various coal grades.
Meanwhile, a PricewaterhouseCoopers survey found strong support among top executives in the power utility sector for coal-fired technologies, as part of the diverse range of solutions needed to meet global energy demands going forward.