Up to $408 million is available for new technologies to advance carbon capture and storage. US Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu just announced that projects by Basin Electric Power Cooperative and Hydrogen Energy International LLC have been selected for up to $408 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The two projects selected – an existing power plant in North Dakota and a new facility in California – will incorporate advanced technologies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

“Today’s announcement represents a major step forward in the fight to reduce CO₂ emissions from coal-based power plants. These new technologies will not only help fight climate change, they will also create new jobs and position the US as a leader in carbon capture and storage technologies for many years,” said Secretary Chu.

The selection of the two projects is part of the third round of the Clean Coal Power Initiative (CCPI). The Department of Energy will provide up to $408 million in federal funds – $100 million to Basin Electric Power Co-operative in Beulah, North Dakota, and $308 million to Hydrogen Energy International LLC in Kern County, California – to support the innovative demonstrations.

The CCPI is a cost-shared collaboration between the federal government and private industry to increase investment in low-emission coal technology by demonstrating advanced coal-based, power generation technologies. The goal of CCPI is to accelerate the readiness of advanced coal technologies for commercial deployment, ensuring that the US has clean, reliable, and affordable electricity and power.

The selected proposals will employ different technological concepts to achieve a goal of at least 90% CO₂ capture efficiency. Descriptions of the selected proposals include:

• Basin Electric Power Cooperative – Post Combustion CO₂ Capture Project – Basin Electric Power will partner with Powerspan and Burns & McDonnell to demonstrate the removal of CO₂ from the flue gas of a lignite-based boiler by adding CO₂ capture and sequestration (CCS) to Basin Electric’s existing Antelope Valley Station, located near Beulah. Powerspan’s ECO2^® ammonia-based technology will be used to capture CO₂ on a 120-MW electric-equivalent gas stream from the 450 MW Antelope Valley Station Unit 1. The net result will be 90% removal of CO₂ from the treated flue gas, yielding 2,720 t/d (907,000 t/y) of pipeline-quality CO₂. The ammonia based SO₂ scrubbing system will also produce a liquid stream of ammonium sulfate that will be processed into a fertilizer by-product.
     
• Hydrogen Energy International LLC – Commercial Demonstration of Advanced IGCC with Full Carbon Capture – Hydrogen Energy International, a joint venture owned by BP Alternative Energy and Rio Tinto, will design, construct, and operate an integrated gasification combined cycle power plant that will take blends of coal and petroleum coke, combined with non-potable water, and convert them into hydrogen and CO₂. The CO₂ will be separated from the hydrogen using the methanol-based Rectisol process. The hydrogen gas will be used to fuel a power station, and the CO₂ will be transported by pipeline to nearby oil reservoirs where it will be injected for storage and used for enhanced oil recovery. The project will capture more than 2,000,000 Mt/y of CO₂.