- Memorandum of Understanding signed
- Process developed by Alstom
American Electric Power (AEP) and RWE plan to collaborate in the testing of carbon capture and storage technology for modern coal-based power plants. To this end, the partners have now signed a Memorandum of Understanding. Alstom will also participate in this project, which will be implemented on the AEP hard coal-fired Mountaineer plant (1,300 MW) in New Haven, West Virginia. Alstom has developed a capture process based on ammonia that is to be used for the post-combustion capture of CO2 from flue gas. This process will be tested in a demonstration plant with an electrical capacity equivalent to 20 MW by capturing and scrubbing a corresponding slipstream from the flue gas. This way, up to 200,000 tons of CO2 are expected to be captured and stored on-site in deep saline formations – salt water-bearing strata – per year.
It was as early as the end of September that RWE Power signed a collaboration agreement with BASF and Linde on the testing of new "scrubbing agents" for capturing carbon in a pilot plant at RWE’s lignite-fired power plant site in Niederaussem. "Climate protection is a global challenge that requires global solutions. Therefore, we seek to expand our technological leadership in the field of CO2 avoidance techniques in collaboration with our American partners," stresses Dr. Johannes Lambertz, Member of the Executive Board of RWE Power in charge of fossil-fuelled power plants. Michael G. Morris, AEP’s Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, points out: "We’re extremely pleased that RWE will join us in this important step toward commercialization of carbon capture technology. Both AEP and RWE have long histories of innovation and engineering excellence for coal-fired generation." He goes on to say: "By combining our engineering and operational experience, I’m confident we can address any technological challenges presented by this project."
Once the captured carbon is stored, the complete technology will have been tested. This area is managed by RWE's upstream subsidiary RWE Dea. The sub-project "storage", which will also be carried out by AEP, is subsidized by RWE Dea. Site-specific investigations of carbon storage capabilities, inter alia at the Mountaineer plant site, have been conducted in the US since 2002. During the investigations, an approximately 2,740-meter exploratory well and seismic studies determined that the site was suitable for deep geological storage of CO2. Battelle Memorial Institute, a global science and technology enterprise and a leader in carbon storage research, is serving as the consultant on geological storage. RWE Dea will contribute its upstream and gas storage expertise.
The overall project – demonstration plant based on chilled ammonia and storage – is set to begin in 2009, provided that the application of this capture technology in a small-scale Wisconsin pilot plant operated by Alstom and the Electric Power Research Institute is successful. AEP and RWE are participating in this project as well.
Once commercial viability of the capture technology is validated at Mountaineer, AEP plans to use Alstom’s chilled ammonia process on one of the 450-MW coal-fired units at its Northeastern Station in Oologah, Oklahoma. This commercial-scale system is scheduled to be operational at the end of this decade. It is expected to capture about 1.5 million tons of CO2 a year. The CO2 captured at Northeastern Station will be used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR).
AEP and RWE are members of the e8, a non-profit international organization composed of the nine leading electricity companies from the G8 countries. The e8 promotes sustainable energy development through electricity sector projects in developing nations worldwide.
American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning more than 38,000 MW of generating capacity in the US. AEP also owns the nation’s largest electricity transmission system, a nearly 39,000-mile network that includes more 756-kV extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other US transmission systems combined. AEP’s transmission system directly or indirectly serves about 10 percent of the electricity demand in the Eastern Interconnection, the interconnected transmission system that covers 38 eastern and central US states and eastern Canada, and approximately 11 percent of the electricity demand in ERCOT, the transmission system that covers much of Texas. AEP’s utility units operate as AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas). AEP’s headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio. AEP owns more than 38,000 MW of generating capacity in the US, 67 percent of which are based on hard coal and lignite.
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