Skip to main content

Evaluating the deployment of coal gasification at a South Korean power plant

Published by , Editor
World Coal,


Southern Company’s subsidiary Southern Generation Technologies has signed a letter of intent with South Korean company Alps Energy and Kellogg, Brown & Root LLC (KBR) to evaluate the deployment of the company's proprietary coal gasification technology at the new 1000 MW Alps Energy power plant in the Saemangeum Industry & Research Area in South Korea.

The agreement underscores the significant international interest in Transport Integrated Gasification – or TRIG™ – the 21st century coal technology at the centre of Southern Company subsidiary Mississippi Power's Kemper County energy facility.

TRIG™ was jointly developed by Southern Company and KBR and is designed to generate electricity from low-rank coal and have resulting carbon emissions better than a similarly sized natural gas plant. At least 65% of the Kemper project's carbon emissions are expected to be captured and repurposed through enhanced oil recovery, increasing domestic oil production.

"Southern Company is committed to developing real solutions to efficiently generate electricity using all of our domestic energy resources," commented Southern Company Chairman, President and CEO, Thomas A. Fanning. "By deploying TRIG™ for the first time at the Kemper County energy facility, we are creating a better energy future and improving America's energy security. Our partnership with South Korea's Alps Energy is a continuation of our long-standing commitment to delivering energy solutions that can benefit customers and communities across the U.S. and around the world."

"Alps is very excited to have entered into this agreement with Southern Company and KBR, who are global leaders in gasification and have successfully demonstrated fluidised bed gasifiers over many decades. We very much look forward to seeing successful initial operations of the Kemper County energy facility and to explore various opportunities to work together with the TRIG™ team in our landmark gasification project in Saemangeum," stated Alps Group Chairman, Kwang-Ouk Bang.

Once the 582 MW Kemper County energy facility is completed in 2016, it will be the first power plant to use TRIG™ technology.

"The world is coming to Kemper because the design of this plant signifies the ability for other nations to leverage one of the world's most abundant energy sources in a dramatically cleaner way," explained Mississippi Power CEO, Ed Holland. "For Mississippi, this means more reliable, affordable energy for our customers and a cleaner environment for us all, making our state a true global leader in energy development."

The first letter of intent to explore TRIG™ deployment, the agreement with Alps Energy represents the sixth agreement with a leading international energy company to explore advanced technologies including TRIG™.

Earlier this year, Southern Company Services and Korea Electric Power Corp. signed a MoU to explore 21st century coal technology. Last year, Southern Company announced similar agreements with Shenhua Group Corp. Ltd, China Huaneng Group and Huaneng Clean Energy Research Institute.

Beyond these agreements, Southern Company continues to receive worldwide interest in TRIG™ from energy companies in regions with access to abundant supplies of low-rank coal. In addition to playing an important role in the development of TRIG™ technology, KBR is the company's partner in licensing TRIG™ technology globally.

"TRIG™ brings a unique solution to a global challenge – how to efficiently gasify low-rank coal while helping preserve the environment," said KBR President of Technology and Consulting, John Derbyshire. "Low-rank coal comprises about half of the world coal supply and today there are no technologies apart from TRIG™ that can efficiently convert this coal into energy with minimal impact on the environment. We believe TRIG™ can help South Korea and other countries with access to low-rank coal to meet their energy challenges."

Edited from press release by Harleigh Hobbs

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/coal/22122015/evaluating-the-deployment-of-coal-gasification-technology-at-a-south-korean-power-plant-3330/

You might also like

EMI

Electrification in Mining virtual conference

Join us on 16 April 2024 for Global Mining Review's first Electrification in Mining event is an interactive virtual conference, focusing on electrification as the future of sustainable mining and exploring the innovative approaches and technologies being developed to facilitate its implementation.

Register for FREE »

 
 
 

Embed article link: (copy the HTML code below):