U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham says the United States will
lead a public-private effort to construct the world's first
pollution-free, coal-fired power plant that will produce both
electricity and hydrogen.
According to a February 27 press release, Abraham announced that the
plant, known as FutureGen, will also serve as a "living prototype" of
carbon sequestration technologies.
"Knowledge from FutureGen will help turn coal from an environmentally
challenging energy resource into an environmentally benign one,"
Abraham said. He added that the prototype power plant, scheduled to be
producing commercially competitive electricity by 2020, "will serve as
a test bed for demonstrating the best technologies the world has to
offer."
The plant, using cutting-edge technologies, will be designed to turn
coal into a hydrogen-rich gas rather than burning it directly. The
hydrogen would then be extracted for use in powering a turbine or fuel
cell to generate electricity. Carbon air pollutants such as sulfur
dioxide and nitrogen oxides would be cleaned from the coal gases and
converted to useable byproducts such as fertilizers and soil
enhancers.
Carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the process would be captured
and sequestered in deep underground geologic formations. Technologies
to sequester carbon dioxide – a potent greenhouse gas – have been
singled out by President Bush as one of the most promising approaches
for reducing heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
In addition to the FutureGen announcement, Under Secretary of State
Paula Dobriansky outlined plans for creating the Carbon Sequestration
Leadership Forum, which will bring together ministerial-level
representatives from several countries to discuss scientific research
and emerging technologies for storing carbon dioxide. Abraham said the
United States will use the opening meeting of the forum, scheduled to
be held in June, to invite other nations to join the FutureGen
initiative.
usinfo.state.gov |
