Centrica looks at clean coal possibilities – report

According to a report in the industry press, the parent company to British Gas, Centrica, is preparing plans to develop a clean coal power plant.

Centrica’s Andrew Hanson told Platts Commodity News that the company is actively pursuing clean coal projects, and hoped to have some news on these developments by the end of 2006.

The deal follows a recent agreement the firm signed with Drax Power for power purchase, and Centrica says that it is talking to various smaller companies about joining forces to push clean coal options.

Clean coal is the catch-all description of various methods used to limit the amount of CO2 emitted when coal is burnt for power generation. Among the favored techniques is carbon sequestration, where CO2 is buried underground or undersea rather than released into the atmosphere.

Fellow UK power generators Powergen (part of E.ON) and RWE npower have also admitted that they are looking into the feasibility of clean coal power stations.