IGCC comparable in cost to advanced coal technologies: US EPA

IGCC comparable in cost to advanced coal technologies: US EPA

Washington (Platts)--7Jul2006

A report released Friday by the US Environmental Protection Agency to
promote the deployment of integrated gasification combined cycle technology
for coal-fired generation shows that IGCC can reduce more carbon dioxide for
less money than advanced coal technologies.

"The currently available carbon management technologies for IGCC are much
more cost effective than similar technologies for removing CO2 from PC
[pulverized coal] plant flue gases," EPA said in its technical report.

For achieving about 90% CO2 capture in an IGCC plant with a net output of
425 MW, the CO2 capture cost would be $24/ton, with the cost of electricity
increasing 38% and total capital costs rising 47%. To achieve that same 90%
capture in a supercritical PC plant would cost $35/ton, boost electricity
costs by 66% and total capital cost by 73%, the report said.

IGCC- and PC-fired boilers are considered "the primary competing
technologies for coal-based power generation." EPA said it believes IGCC is
"one of the most promising technologies in reducing environmental consequences
of generating electricity from coal."

The report, undertaken by EPA with the US Department of Energy, evaluates
coal generation technologies projected to be commercially available by 2010
and examines their use with all three coal types--bituminous, sub-bituminous
and lignite. The IGCC plant configurations include coal slurry-based and dry
coal-based oxygen-blown gasifiers. The PC plant configurations included
subcritical, supercritical and ultra-suprecritical boiler designs.

EPA said that "substantially more detailed process engineering and
coordination with the technology developers" is necessary to improve the
knowledge base of both IGCC and PC technologies and those technology
developers require a complete design basis to provide greater details.

---Cathy Cash, cathy_cash@platts.com

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