Sep 05 - Evansville Courier & Press

The Duke Energy power plant under construction in Edwardsport, Ind., that will convert coal into gas to produce electricity, also could be the test site for a new technology to capture carbon dioxide emissions. The greenhouse gas pollutant would be stored underground, officials said.

With Indiana's ongoing reliance on its large deposits of coal for generating electricity, Gov. Mitch Daniels' administration is trying to position the state as a leader in the emerging field of carbon capture-sequestration technology, or CCS.

Daniels invited 150 experts attending an energy summit in Indianapolis to help the state develop the legal and regulatory framework necessary for that pollution-control technology in coal- to-gas plants.

Jim Rogers, CEO of Duke Energy, said the utility's 630-megawatt power plant at Edwardsport will gather carbon dioxide during the coal-to-gas conversion and store it underground, rather than releasing it through the smokestack.

Duke Energy is watching legislation now before Congress that would create $1 billion a year in grants to accelerate CCS development nationwide.

The proposal's author, Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., has estimated it would add $10 to $12 per year to the average utility ratepayer's bills, if passed.

A longtime major player in energy legislation on Capitol Hill, former Sen. Bennett Johnston, D-La., underscored Daniels' and Rogers' emphasis on CCS.

"The U.S. in general and the Midwest states like Indiana have a particular opportunity to be the world leader in the deployment of these technologies," Johnston said.

Separate from the Duke Energy plant in Edwardsport, a consortium called Indiana Gasification LLC is planning to build a plant near Rockport, Ind., estimated at $2 billion, that would convert coal into synthetic natural gas and sell it to industrial and residential customers rather than converting it directly to electricity.

The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission has given the developers until Oct. 1 to reach 30-year gas purchase agreements with utilities, contracts that would become public by an Oct. 15 deadline.

The energy summit continues today in Indianapolis.

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