EPRI will conduct independent evaluations of the carbon dioxide (CO2) capture process and manage a collaborative of utility participants. The project will be the first to both capture CO2 from a pulverized coal-fired power plant and inject it into a permanent storage site more than 7,800 feet underground. The data collected and analyzed by the collaborative will support efforts to advance CCS technologies to commercial scale and provide information to the public and industry on future advanced coal generation options.

A 20-megawatt electric capture system has been installed at AEP's 1,300-megawatt Mountaineer Plant, where it will remove approximately 100,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually from the flue gas stream of the plant. The captured CO2 will be compressed and injected into two saline reservoirs located beneath the plant site. An event to formally recognize the start up of the AEP-Alstom CO2 capture and storage facility will be held Oct. 30 (More details and a press invitation will be distributed in the near future.)

"This is a major step in the effort to demonstrate commercially viable technologies that capture, transport and sequester carbon from a working power plant," said Mike Howard, EPRI senior vice president for Research and Development. "Through this effort, we will help move the industry towards a low-carbon and more sustainable future."

The Mountaineer project will operate for up to five years and help validate the effectiveness of the Alstom's patented chilled ammonia process for carbon dioxide capture and the viability of storage in the local geology. The project will provide critical information necessary to scale up capture and storage technologies for new power plants and for retrofit on existing facilities.

"With centuries of domestic coal reserves and state and regional economies tied to coal as a fuel for electricity generation, we must focus attention and significant resources on advancing cleaner coal-fueled generation technologies including carbon dioxide capture and storage," said Nicholas Akins, AEP executive vice president, Generation.