Australia could host the world’s first integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plant equipped with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology after GE Energy announced that it is working with partners in Queensland to develop the project.
The USA-based engineering firm has already submitted a full project proposal to the Queensland and Australian federal governments, and says that the project could be ready for commercial operation in late 2015 or early 2016.
The proposed Wandoan project would produce 400 MW of power pre-CCS and would be capable of capturing 90 per cent of the carbon dioxide (CO2) in the fuel stream. GE is working with Stanwell and Xstrata Coal to develop the project, which will not only address future energy needs in the state of Queensland, but also help to tackle the issues surrounding Australia’s heavy reliance on coal.
“The IGCC plant with carbon capture as proposed by the Wandoan Power Consortium would be a critical step in ensuring the future of cleaner coal technology for power generation and, importantly, would utilize Australia’s most abundant fuel resource, coal, in a cleaner way,” said Steve Bolze, president of GE Energy Power & Water.
Coal plays a pivotal role in the Australian economy, with 2009 exports expected to reach A$56 billion. Approximately 80 per cent of Australia’s electricity production today originates from coal-fired power stations, yet the nation is considered to be one of those most at risk from the effects of climate change.
Early in 2009, the Queensland and Australian federal governments declared in legislation their interest in funding the development and deployment of coal-fuelled projects that incorporate high levels of CCS. This year also saw the official launch of the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute (GCCSI), an initiative led by the Australian government designed to accelerate the development of CCS technologies.
“We are pleased to work with Stanwell, a leading power generator, with the aim of proposing the development of an IGCC plant with carbon capture and storage,” Bolze added.
“The proposed Wandoan power project would be based on GE’s commercially available IGCC technologies that have been operating for decades around the world and are being used at the 630 MW commercial plant under construction for Duke Energy at Edwardsport, Ind. in the United States,” he said.
“IGCC plants already have demonstrated the capability to significantly reduce emissions, compared to conventional coal-fired plants, and gasification technology has been used widely, at commercial scale, to separate carbon. What is really exciting here is the opportunity to deploy IGCC technology with CCS and deliver low carbon coal power in Australia,” Bolze said.
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