General Electric + University of Wyoming = IGCC

General Electric has partnered with the University of Wyoming to find optimal clean solutions for burning Powder River Basin coal, and other Wyoming coals. GE has developed IGCC, integrated gasification combined cycle electricity generation from coal to an advanced state. This allows the clean and highly efficient production of electricity using both gas turbines and steam turbines in combined cycles. In addition, process heat can be produced for industry and general heating needs, further increasing overall efficiency and usefulness of the process.

Wyoming is uniquely positioned in the nation's energy landscape and has vast coal resources capable of supporting a substantial portion of the nation's energy needs. The state produces approximately 40 percent of all of the coal used in the United States to generate electricity.
The new center will include a small-scale gasification system that will enable researchers from GE and the university to develop advanced gasification solutions for Powder River Basin and other Wyoming coals. The research is expected to expand the range of coals that can be used with GE's integrated gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) technology for power plants. The facility is expected to be operational by 2012.

.... GE is a world leader in IGCC technology and has been at the forefront of IGCC technology since the Coolwater project, a 120 MW technical demonstration IGCC project started in 1984. GE's IGCC technology also has operated at the 250 MW TECO Polk I station in Florida for more than 12 years. Today, GE offers a 630 MW IGCC reference plant that produces 75 percent less SOx, 33 percent less NOx, 40 percent less particulate matter, uses 30 percent less water and offers 90 percent mercury capture, compared to a traditional pulverized coal plant.

In addition to providing a cleaner alternative for power generation, IGCC is well-suited for carbon capture. Carbon capture technology is in use in GE's industrial gasification applications around the world today. _Source

Regular readers of Al Fin Energy know that Al Fin is concerned about reducing pollution, but not particularly concerned about reducing CO2--which is far from being a pollutant. IGCC reduces the important pollutants that come from coal by a large margin.

If a radical environmentalist-driven Obama reich blocks such gasification coal plants on the basis of CO2 release, it would the the epitome of stupidity and self-destruction. Nevertheless, it is what we expect the Obama administration combined with the Pelosi/Boxer congress to do. Keep your eyes open, so that you will have the best possible options available to you.