As per the deal, the firms will assess the deployment of the coal technology, Transport Integrated Gasification (TRIG), at the 1,000MW Alps Energy power plant, which is currently under construction in the Saemangeum Industry & Research Area in South Korea.
Jointly developed by Southern Company and Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR), the technology has already been selected for Southern Company subsidiary Mississippi Power’s 582MW Kemper County energy facility.
The TRIG technology has been designed for producing low-emission coal-based electricity. The process involves converting low grade coal into gas, which is will be significantly burned to provide electricity.
Alps Group chairman Kwang-Ouk Bang said: "We very much look forward to seeing successful initial operations of the Kemper County energy facility and to explore various opportunities to work together with the TRIG team in our landmark gasification project in Saemangeum,"
At least 65% of carbon emissions from the Kemper County energy facility will be captured and repurposed through enhanced oil recovery. This increases domestic oil production.
Southern Company chairman, president and CEO Thomas Fanning said: "By deploying TRIG for the first time at the Kemper County energy facility, we are creating a better energy future and improving America’s energy security."
The Kemper County energy facility is planned to be commissioned in 2016.
Mississippi Power CEO Ed Holland said: "The world is coming to Kemper because the design of this plant signifies the ability for other nations to leverage one of the world’s most abundant energy sources in a dramatically cleaner way."
Earlier this year, Southern Company Services signed a memorandum of understanding with Korea Electric Power (KEPCO) to jointly explore the deployment of clean coal power generation and carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies.
Image: Mississippi Power CEO Ed Holland and representatives from Alps Energy. Photo: courtesy of Mississippi Power.
