Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette on Friday announced a $64 million dollar initiative to fund research and development for coal, giving an assist to an industry that appears to be on the decline.
Brouillette announced the so-called Coal FIRST initiative at an Atlantic Council event, saying that it was “going to help us produce more coal-based power more efficiently and transform it into a near-zero emissions energy source.”
He particularly emphasized the idea of making coal plants smaller and more efficient, saying this would make it easier to make them cleaner.
"Coal as a percentage of U.S. electricity generation is declining," he added. "The efforts that we're undertaking is not to subsidize the industry and preserve their status ... as a larger electricity generator. It is simply to make the product cleaner and to look for alternative uses for this product."
Brouillette's announcement comes as coal-fired power generation becomes an increasingly smaller part of the U.S. energy sector.
Figures announced last year from the U.S. Energy Information Administration show that renewable energy production surpassed coal-fired generation for the first time in the U.S.
A University of California, San Diego study published in the journal Nature last month showed that from 2005 to 2016, the period analyzed in the study, 334 coal-fired units were shut down.
It also showed that reduced carbon emissions saved more than 26,000 lives in the U.S.
Mary Anne Hitt, the senior director of Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign, called the decision "ridiculous and wasteful" in a statement.
"The DOE putting $64 million to research new ways to burn coal is like the Pentagon spending $1 billion for new ways to fire a musket ball," Hitt said.
On Friday, Brouillette also commented on President Trump’s announcement that he no longer supports funding for a controversial nuclear waste repository in Nevada, saying that the administration will look for other solutions.
"We're going to be working with our interagency partners to look for innovative solutions that might involve interim storage, it might involve other types of storage," he said.
A 700 megawatt (mW) coal-fired power plant has been approved for development in Koh Kong’s Botum Sakor district by the Cabinet.
The $1.5 billion investment in the Independent Power Producer (IPP) plant is a venture by Cambodian tycoon Okhna Kith Meng’s Royal Group.
A source familiar with the investment said: “The project calls for the construction of a jetty to enable the shipment and unloading of imported coal to fire the power plant.
“It will take about four years to complete and 80 percent – 4,765.44 million – kilowatt hours a year of the power generated by the power plant will be sold to the Electricte Du Cambodge [EDC], the state owned utility company.”
The project has a 35-year operating licence and is to be undertaken on a “build-own-operate” basis.
“The investment funds for the project will comprise 30 percent injection by the company while the remaining 70 percent is expected to be from projects loan from development banks with an expected interest rate of 6.5 percent.
“The company has been mandated to undertake a rigorous environmental impact assessment on the proposed project site, including possible impact on the front where the jetty is to be constructed as well as pollution control,” the source said.
This is the second power plant project being undertaken by Royal Group. The first is the 400 MWs Lower Sesan 2 hydropower plant, located at Stung Treng.
This was officially inaugurated by Prime Minister Hun Sen in December 2018 and has an investment capital estimated at $850 million.
The 230kV Transmission Line from the Project to Botum Sakor Substation. Supplied
In addition to the 700 MWs plant, the cabinet had also approved a 265 MWs coal power plant in Trapaing Prasad, Oddar Meanchey province, taking advantage of significant thermal coal deposits in the province.
This plant is expected to start generating power by between the end of 2021 and 2022 and is to be undertaken by Han Seng Coal Mines (HSCM) Co Ltd.
For the project in Oddarmeanchey, EDC must buy85 percent of the power produced power – the equivalent to 1,712,58 million kilovolts an hour per year. The form of investment is also build-own-operate with a business licensing period of 25 years.
Total investment capital is $294.30 million of which 30 per cent is from the company’s fund and the remaining 70 per cent is a bank loan with an interest rate of 6.5 per cent.
The company will enjoy nine years of free tax on income, starting from the date of commercial operation.
Han Seng Coal Mines is listed as a Cambodian registered company that specialises in mineral exploration.
An energy engineer familiar with coal -fired power plants told Khmer Times that that the latest two project approvals would bring to four the total number of coal-fired power plants in Cambodia, including one which is already in operation, one approved last year and the two approved last week.
By pushing the boundaries of power plant design in this manner, the fossil fuel industry will ensure that clean coal continues to play a pivotal role in the global energy mixture to the middle of the century and beyond.
In addition to the two power plants approved, the cabinet has also approved a 230 kilovolt grid link from the power plant in Trapaing Prasad connected to the sub-station in Siem Reap province.
The project is estimated to cost $61.45 million with a tax-exempt period of nine years and a business operations agreement for a period of 10 years.
The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced up to $64 million in federal funding for cost-shared research and development (R&D) projects under the funding opportunity announcement (DE-FOA-0002057), “Critical Components for Coal FIRST Power Plants of the Future.”
DOE’s Coal FIRST (Flexible, Innovative, Resilient, Small, Transformative) initiative is intended to develop the coal plant of the future needed to provide secure and reliable power to the US grid. Major attributes of Coal FIRST plants must include:
- High overall plant efficiency (40% HHV or higher at full load without carbon capture, with minimal reductions in efficiency over the required generation range).
- Modular (unit sizes of approximately 50 to 350 MW), maximizing the benefits of high-quality, low-cost shop fabrication to minimize field construction costs and project cycle time.
- Near-zero emissions, including plant designs that inherently emit no or low amounts of carbon dioxide (designed as close as possible to the DOE goal of 90%, or higher, CO2 capture efficiency).
- Capable of high ramp rates and minimum loads commensurate with estimates of renewable energy market penetration by 2050.
Evaluation of potential future power plant concept designs assisted in defining the R&D sought under this FOA. DOE will solicit cost-shared projects focused on developing the critical components required by Coal FIRST and transformational coal-fired system.
The evolving US energy mix requires cleaner, more reliable, and highly efficient plants. Technologies developed for the Coal FIRST initiative will lead to just that—reliable, highly efficient plants with zero or near-zero emissions. —Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy Steven Winberg
The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) will manage the projects supporting Coal FIRST, which is a joint initiative among the Office of Fossil Energy’s Transformative Power Generation, Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Technology, Advanced Turbines, Gasification Systems, and Carbon Capture research programs.
The FOA focuses on seven areas of interest (AOIs):
AOI 1: Pressurized Fluidized Bed Combustor with Supercritical Steam Cycle Power Plant System.
Projects developed under this AOI will support a system based on pressurized fluidized bed combustion within a supercritical steam power plant that operates at an elevated pressure to enhance combustion with the capability of co-firing with natural gas or biomass. Specific critical components of interest include projects pertaining to the pressurized post-combustion capture sub-system and integrated energy storage sub-system.
AOI 2: Indirect Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Power Plant System.
Projects under this AOI will support the commercialization of the indirect supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) power plant system, which delivers compactness, efficiency, modular construction, and operational flexibility. This combination has the potential to allow better competitiveness in the future energy market. Specific critical components of interest include the coal-fired primary heater sub-system, sCO2 turbine seals and bearings, and the integrated energy storage sub-system.
AOI 3: Direct-Fired Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Power Plant System.
Projects under this AOI will support the commercialization of the direct-fired sCO2 power plant system, which has the potential to produce electricity at a lower cost than current state-of-the-art natural gas- and coal-fired systems. Specific critical components of interest include the syngas oxy-combustor and the sCO2 turbine.
AOI 4: Gasification-Based Poly-Generation.
Projects under this AOI will support the commercialization of critical components for a gasification-based, poly-generation system, which leverages an innovative application of largely established technology components to design and develop a coal-based, poly-generation system that contributes to the modern bulk power system. Specific critical components of interest include the pre-combustion capture sub-system and the devolatilizer/gasification subsystem.
AOI 5: Coal-Fired Direct Injection Combustion Engine & Gas Turbine Compound Reheat Combined Cycle Power Plant System.
Projects under this AOI will support the commercialization of critical components for a coal-fired direct injection combustion engine and gas turbine compound reheat combined cycle power plant system. Specific critical components of interest include the micronized refined coal production subsystem and the direct injection combustion engine.
AOI 6: Modular Staged Pressurized Oxy-Combustion Power Plant System.
Projects under this AOI will support the commercialization of critical components for a modular staged pressurized oxy-combustion power plant system, which is a near-zero emissions source of coal-fired power with high efficiency and flexibility. Specific critical components of interest include the integrated staged pressurized oxy-combustion subsystem and direct contact coolers.
AOI 7: Flameless Pressurized Oxy-Combustion Power Plant System.
Projects under this AOI will support the commercialization of critical components for a flameless pressurized oxy-combustion (FPO) power plant system. DOE seeks R&D to design and test the operability and performance of the integrated FPO system.
DOE anticipates selecting up to 14 projects under this FOA.