OMAHA, Neb. – Two Tenaska projects aimed at substantially reducing carbon emissions from power generating plants have received international recognition in the form of grants from the Global Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Institute, based in Australia.
Receiving the grants underscores Tenaska’s position among the leading developers worldwide of technologies to limit emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2).
The two projects are:
o Tenaska Trailblazer Energy Center in West Texas, which received $7.7 million, ($8.03 million AUD). The proposed 600-megawatt (net) pulverized coal-fueled power plant will be among the first worldwide designed to capture 85 to 90 percent of the CO2 emissions and transport them via pipeline to nearby oil fields for use in enhanced oil recovery.
o A second Tenaska carbon capture project, which will receive $795,000 ($825,600 AUD) to support CO2 capture development studies for a retrofit of Entergy’s Roy S. Nelson power plant in Westlake, Louisiana.
The grant awarded to the Trailblazer Energy Center, planned near Sweetwater, Texas, will help fund the front-end engineering and design (FEED) work for the power plant’s carbon capture technology. The carbon capture plant at Trailblazer is among the largest proposed for a commercial scale conventional coal plant in the world today. The use of the CO2 in enhanced oil recovery in the Permian Basin is projected to add more than 10 million barrels annually to the region’s oil production. Fluor Enterprises, Trailblazer’s engineering, procurement and construction contractor and the plant’s CO2 capture technology provider, is performing the FEED study.
“Tenaska appreciates the confidence the Global CCS Institute has placed in our projects,” said David Fiorelli, president of Tenaska’s Development Group. “We welcome the opportunity to share our experience with others around the globe to help commercialize carbon capture technology worldwide.”
In addition to the Trailblazer and Nelson projects, Tenaska is also developing the Taylorville Energy Center in Illinois, a proposed 602-MW (net) integrated gasification combined-cycle power plant designed to capture more than 50 percent of its CO2 emissions.
Since the Trailblazer Energy Center was announced in 2008, Tenaska has made significant development progress. The project has been issued a draft air quality permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and expects a final permit by the end of this year. St. Louis-based Arch Coal, Inc., joined the project as a partner and coal supplier for the first 20 years of the plant’s operation. Fluor Corporation’s Econamine FG Plussm carbon capture technology was selected for the facility. Among the environmental features of the Trailblazer project is Tenaska’s commitment to reduce its water use by more than 90 percent through the use of dry cooling technology.
The Global CCS Institute announced the grants in conjunction with its Kyoto Members Conference in Kyoto, Japan. Tenaska representatives also are attending the conference to present facts about the company’s carbon capture projects.
“Our financial resources are focused on projects that promise the greatest return toward accelerating the construction and operation of CCS projects,” said Global CCS Institute CEO Nick Otter. “We want to engage with those projects where we can have an immediate impact by helping them remove the obstacles to their success.”
The Institute has broad support from 36 national and regional governments and more than 220 corporations, non-government entities and research organizations.
About Tenaska
Tenaska has developed approximately 9,000 megawatts (MW) of electric generating capacity across the United States. Tenaska’s affiliates operate and manage eight power plants in six states totaling more than 6,700 MW of generating capacity owned in partnership with other companies. Tenaska Capital Management, an affiliate, provides management services for stand-alone private equity funds, with nearly $5 billion in assets, including nine power plants (with approximately 5,400 MW of capacity), and multiple natural gas midstream assets, including storage, gathering and processing facilities.
Tenaska is applying proven pre- and post-combustion technologies on a commercial scale in environmentally friendly clean coal projects, two of which are in advanced development. The Taylorville Energy Center, in advanced development, will convert Illinois coal into clean-burning substitute natural gas, use it to generate electricity and capture more than 50 percent of the plant’s CO2 emissions. Trailblazer Energy Center in Nolan County, Texas, is expected to be the first commercial scale, conventional coal-fueled power plant in the world to capture 85 to 90 percent of its CO2 after combustion. Tenaska is repeatedly cited in benchmarking studies by the Natural Resources Defense Council as having among the best fleet-wide records in the United States for controlling emissions. For more information about Tenaska or its CCS projects, visit www.tenaska.com, www.cleancoalillinois.com or www.tenaskatrailblazer.com.
About the Global CCS Institute
The Global CCS Institute works with organizations and governments to accelerate the deployment of CCS, ensuring that the technology plays a role in responding to the world’s need for a low carbon energy future. The interim goal of the Institute is to accelerate the development of 20 commercial-scale integrated demonstration projects.
The organization plays a key role in knowledge sharing across demonstration projects and is working on enabling the regulatory and policy as well as commercial and financial conditions for CCS to be deployed commercially around the world. It has more than 260 members. Based out of Australia, it also has offices and representatives in North America and Europe. More information is available at www.globalccsinstitute.com.