The Longview Power project includes a 695MW rated (net) supercritical pulverized coal power plant equipped with Siemens’ air pollution control equipment.
The study will include process design activities focused on the potential application of Siemens’ amino acid salt post-combustion CO2 capture (POSTCAP) process. Siemens provided the air quality control system (AQCS) and therefore is in a position to optimize the existing AQCS to accommodate the POSTCAP technology. The $2bn project includes a $500m investment in environmental control systems.
According to the US Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA), the amount of CO2 produced from the combustion of fossil fuels in the US is nearly 5.7 billion metric tons with approximately 33% coming from the coal-fired electric power sector. Climate change legislation pending in the US Congress may require a reduction in CO2 emissions from coal-fired power plants.
The completion of the Siemens POSTCAP feasibility study for Longview can help establish the necessary parameters to allow a demonstration plant to be realized, the company said.
Randy Zwirn, CEO of Service Division at Siemens Energy, said: “With the results of the study and the support of government funding, we hope to expand upon this agreement and eventually design and install a post-combustion plant demonstration unit.
”The US will need a diverse mix of environmentally compatible sources of power to meet future needs for a clean, sustainable energy supply, and post-combustion CO2 capture can help meet our nation’s ever increasing energy requirements, using the coal resources that are indigenous to the US”
Bob Place, CEO of GenPower, said: ”GenPower is excited to participate in the advancement of technologies that further our commitment to the development of clean energy resources. We see strong potential for the Siemens post-combustion carbon capture system to advance our clean energy goals.”
