Marking a major milestone on the road to America’s clean energy future, GE on April 30 announced the shipment of the second of its advanced, highly efficient turbines to Duke Energy’s integrated gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) power plant in Edwardsport, Ind. GE is providing the IGCC technology for Duke’s Edwardsport facility, which is expected to be the largest, most advanced commercial IGCC plant in the world in 2012.
“With GE Energy’s advanced technology, we are building one of the cleanest and most efficient coal-fired plants in the world,” said Catherine Heigel, president, Duke Energy Carolinas, South Carolina. “This project demonstrates our commitment to building a clean energy economy for our communities.”
“GE Energy’s IGCC technology embodies the company’s commitment to powering the world with cleaner energy products,” said Monte Atwell, general manager – gasification for GE Power & Water. “It helps preserve a role for coal in a cleaner energy economy, both here in the United States and around the world.”
GE Energy’s IGCC technology solution, which is available today, converts coal to gas. Pollutants – NOx, SOx, Mercury and particulate matter – are then removed from the gas. IGCC offers the ability to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) prior to combustion, providing an efficient, economical and commercially feasible means of reducing this greenhouse gas when compared to a traditional coal plant.
Atwell noted that strong federal policy leadership and financial incentives are needed to accelerate the widespread adoption of IGCC technology in the United States. “The administration and Congress need to help jump-start America’s transition to a cleaner energy economy,” he said. “The United States can lead the world in IGCC technology development and deployment, but the time to act is now. Already, China is emerging as a world leader in the construction of more efficient, less polluting coal plants. If America doesn’t act swiftly, the opportunity to export U.S. IGCC technology to coal-rich nations like China and India may be lost.”
GE Energy has been a pioneer in the development of IGCC technology, having provided the technology for several milestone IGCC projects, including the pilot Coolwater IGCC plant in Barstow, Calif. GE Energy’s IGCC technology also has been operating on a commercial scale at Tampa Electric’s 250-megawatt Polk Power Station since 1996.
The two GE 7F syngas turbines – which will operate on cleaner burning syngas fuel produced from coal – were manufactured in GE’s Greenville, S.C., plant, which employs approximately 3,100. The first turbine shipped to Edwardsport in early April. When complete, Duke’s Edwardsport plant will generate up to 618 megawatts of electricity, enough power to nearly 500,000 homes.
