Peabody Energy honours coal power plants
Published by Angharad Lock,
Digital Assistant Editor
World Coal,
Peabody Energy has recognised US coal power plants for top environmental performance at the 2016 Peabody Energy Clean Coal Awards. Awards were determined based on data available from the Environmental Protection Agency for the lowest sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions rates in addition to the best efficiency (as measured by heat rate), which results in a lower carbon footprint. Starting this year, the company also presented awards to industry pioneers advancing modern, large-scale carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS) projects. Honouree selection for the new awards followed a comprehensive review process by an independent panel of CCUS subject matter experts.
"Peabody has advocated clean coal technologies to reduce carbon and other emissions for nearly two decades, and we are pleased to shine a bright light on the quality work being done in the US to advance high-efficiency, low-emissions generation and low-carbon systems," said Peabody Energy President and Chief Executive Officer, Glenn Kellow. "Our 2016 winners showcase the tremendous environmental success achieved today and the progress toward large-scale carbon capture technologies we believe are essential for society's carbon goals."
Awards were presented at Power-Gen International and honourees included:
- Dynegy's Coffeen Plant: For the best SO2 emissions rate among US coal plants. The Coffeen plant has a SO2 emissions profile that is 99% better than the US coal fleet average. The 915 MW power plant operates in Central Illinois. The Coffeen Plant uses low-sulfur Powder River Basin coal and added a wet scrubber in 2009.
- Southwestern Electric Power Co.'s (SWEPCO) John W. Turk Jr. Plant: For the best NOx emissions rate among US coal plants. The Turk plant has a NOx emissions profile that is 79% better than the US coal fleet average. The 600 MW ultra-supercritical power plant was built in Fulton, Ark., by SWEPCO, a unit of American Electric Power, and began commercial operation in 2012.
- Longview Power LLC's Longview Power Plant: For the lowest heat rate among US coal plants. The Longview plant operates at a level of efficiency 15% better than the US coal fleet average. Longview's best-in-class heat rate of 9003 Btu per kilowatt hour in 2015 continues to improve, and the company's current efficiency performance is on track to be well below 8900 Btu per kilowatt hour.
- Mississippi Power's Kemper County Energy Facility: As Carbon Capture, Use and Storage Pioneer. The 582 MW Kemper facility located in Kemper County, Miss., employs Transport Integrated Gasification technology that is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 65%. Judges applauded the facility's innovation in the areas of ash removal and CO2 separation, noting: "the technology holds great promise for future new electric power plants."
- NRG Energy and JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration's Petra Nova Carbon Capture Project: As Carbon Capture, Use and Storage Pioneer. The Petra Nova project demonstrates commercial-scale deployment of post-combustion carbon capture and is designed to capture approximately 90% of CO2 emissions from a 240 MW equivalent slipstream of flue gas from the W.A. Parish plant in Thompsons, Texas, southwest of Houston. Judges commended the project's innovative capture technology, observing that it "represents the first large-scale retrofit of an existing coal-fired power plant."
Today's high-efficiency, low-emissions (HELE) coal-fueled generation includes multiple technologies capable of reducing the vast majority of SO2, NOx, particulate matter, mercury and other emissions. Advanced HELE technologies result in a smaller environmental footprint, achieving as much as a 25% reduction in a plant's CO2 emissions rate. Longer-term investments in next-generation carbon capture technologies are widely recognised as essential to meet long-term global climate goals.
The Peabody Energy Clean Coal Awards programme was established in 2014 to recognise leadership and improve awareness about the benefits of clean coal technologies. Peabody believes coal will continue to be an important part of the world's energy mix and responsible use including further deployment of advanced coal technologies can help achieve energy security, economic growth and environmental solutions.
Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/power/02012017/peabody-energy-honours-coal-power-plants/
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