Near-Zero Emissions Power Plant Being Designed

Washington - A coalition of the largest electric utilities and coal companies in the United States announced that they have created the FutureGen Industrial Alliance, a non-profit company that will partner with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to facilitate the design, construction and operation of the world's first near-zero emissions coal-based power plant.

FutureGen will demonstrate advanced coal-based technologies to generate electricity for families and businesses, and also produce hydrogen to power fuel cells for transportation and other energy needs. The technology also will integrate the capture of carbon emissions with carbon sequestration, helping to address the issue of climate change as energy demand continues to grow worldwide.

The 275 megawatt plant will be developed through a public-private partnership led by the seven founding FutureGen Industrial Alliance members that include:

• American Electric Power
• BHP Billiton
• CONSOL Energy Inc.
• Foundation Coal Corporation
• Kennecott Energy Company, a member of the Rio Tinto group
• Peabody Energy
• Southern Company

Because of the global interest in meeting energy demands and improving emissions, membership in the Alliance is open to other U.S. and international companies. The Alliance is presently in discussions with the China Huaneng Group, which is the largest Peoples Republic of China-based energy company primarily engaged in coal-fueled power generation. The Huaneng Group has expressed an interest in joining the Alliance in the very near future. The Alliance is also in discussions with other companies and expects membership to grow.

Formation of FutureGen Alliance was coordinated by Battelle, a non-profit research and development institution. The Alliance is working with DOE to secure a final agreement for FutureGen. Once an agreement is reached, the process would proceed to site selection and plant design.

"FutureGen is an opportunity to develop and deploy breakthrough technology that would allow the United States and the world to use an abundant resource in meeting long-term global energy challenges," said FutureGen Alliance Chairman Dr. Charles Goodman, Senior Vice President of Generation Policy for Southern Company. "FutureGen can help ensure the continued availability of affordable electricity, lead our nation to more energy independence -- and an even cleaner environment -- as well as addressing concerns related to carbon emissions and climate change."

The Alliance member companies:

• provide energy to tens of millions of U.S. residential, business and industrial customers,
• mine and market all major coal types,
• have major operations across the United States,
• have an international presence that spans the globe, including the United Kingdom, continental Europe, Canada, Mexico, Australia and Asia, among other regions.

Beyond creating ultra-clean electricity from coal, FutureGen is being developed to transform the nation's transportation fleet from reliance on petroleum to clean hydrogen. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that increasing coal production by 330 million tons per year would satisfy 50 percent of the nation's transportation requirements for the Freedom Car initiative.

The vision was conceptualized during the Clinton Administration through the Vision 21 Program and developed by the Bush Administration through the $1 billion FutureGen initiative. FutureGen also supports the use of technology development to address climate change concerns, energy and sustainable development as supported by both The Gleneagles Communique issued at the most- recent G8 summit, and the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development.

"Cutting-edge technology will be employed throughout this prototype plant," according to FutureGen acting Chief Executive Officer Michael Mudd, American Electric Power's Program Manager of Technology Development. "The facility is also expected to provide a platform for researchers to test new and innovative technologies."

The plant will gasify the coal through a process that converts the coal's carbon to a synthesis gas composed of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The synthesis gas will react with steam to produce additional hydrogen and a concentrated stream of carbon dioxide.

The hydrogen will be used as a clean fuel for electricity generation in turbines, fuel cells or hybrid combinations of these technologies. The captured carbon dioxide will be separated from the hydrogen and permanently sequestered in deep, unmineable coal seams, deep saline aquifers or other geologic formations. Carbon sequestration activities will be monitored over time to assess their effectiveness and potential applicability in various settings around the globe.

Coal fuels more than 50 percent of electricity in the United States and provides more than two-and-a-half centuries of energy security. Coal used for electricity generation has tripled since 1970, while emissions from coal have been reduced by one-third.

SOURCE: FutureGen Industrial Alliance