Fresh call for clean coal

The US Department of Energy announced yesterday that it is planning a new round of its Clean Coal Power Initiative (CCPI).

The CCPI is a cost-sharing partnership between the government and industry to demonstrate advanced coal-based electric power generation technologies.

In parallel with yesterday’s announcement, the Office of Fossil Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory has published a Notice of Intent to issue a funding opportunity announcement for Round 3 of the Clean Coal Power Initiative.

CCPI Round 3 targets advanced coal-based systems and subsystems that capture or separate carbon dioxide for sequestration or beneficial reuse. Round 3 is also open to any coal-based advanced carbon capture technologies that result in co-benefits with respect to efficiency, environmental, or economic improvements potentially capable of achieving CCPI coal technology performance levels specified in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

DOE is interested in demonstrating advanced technologies not currently deployed in the marketplace, specifically technologies capable of producing electricity in any combination with heat, fuels, chemicals, hydrogen or other useful by-products.

Prospective projects must ensure that coal is used for at least 75 per cent of the fuel energy input into the process, while electricity is at least 50 per cent of the energy-equivalent output from the technology demonstrated.

The DOE is interested in industry input on the best way to structure Round 3 to allow demonstration projects under CCPI to integrate with ongoing large-scale sequestration field tests currently being developed by the US government department. For example, an attempt could be made to integrate a CCPI project with a sequestration field test to supply lower-cost CO2, and reduce the cost of either or both projects.