In Schuylkill County, which once thrived when it was part of a Northeast PA’s coal region, history could soon meet the future if the Department of Energy sees fit. Future Power PA, a majority owned and controlled joint venture of Future Fuels LLC of Houston, Texas and Immersive Media Corporation of Calgary, Alberta, has requested matching funds from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Coal Power Initiative.
The program would accelerate construction of the country’s first commercial carbon storage project in Good Spring, which could provide more than 1,000 jobs.
“There is much work to be done,” says Jim Palumbo of Future Power PA. “If the funding comes through, we’ll be ready to move that much faster.”
The 270-megawatt Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle electricity plant will utilize local anthracite with carbon dioxide sequestration capabilities and serve the PJM West electricity market. Most importantly, it will meet alternative energy portfolio standards required by Pennsylvania and, at start-up, should exceed the Energy Policy Act of 2005 standards set for 2020.
Utilizing coal with such low emission levels has proven to be a truly global effort, using vital gasification technical expertise from China’s Thermal Power Research Institute. The Good Spring location requires almost no fuel transportation or electric power transmission costs typically associated with such plants. Those savings will provide the funding for expensive carbon dioxide sequestration activities. Future Power PA expects to receive word from the DOE by the end of the year.
Source: Jim Palumbo, Future Power PA
Writer: Joe Petrucci