CLEAN COAL GETS A BOOST

The Department of Energy has signed a contract with American Electric Power (AEP) calling for the largest U.S. Clean Coal Technology (CCT) program to date, a $659.9 million repowering of AEP's Sporn plant at New Haven, W.Va. The Sporn project is the ninth CCT project signed from the second round of competition for government funds. The nine projects represent a government/industry investment of more than $960 million.

April 16, 1990

2 min read

The Sporn project is the ninth CCT project signed from the second round of competition for government funds. The nine projects represent a government/industry investment of more than $960 million.

The project will replace two conventional coal fired boilers at the Sporn plant with a pressurized fluidized bed combustion process that not only burns high sulfur coal cleanly but is more energy efficient than conventional coal boilers.

In the technology, acid rain causing pollutants are captured in the combustion process that produces steam to drive a steam turbine. When the boiler operates at high pressure, the clean exhaust gases have enough energy to drive a gas turbine/generator.

The combined cycle approach can produce as much as 40% more power than conventional systems with the same amount of coal.

When completed in 1996, the process is expected to increase power output from the two boilers from the current 300,000 kw to more than 330,000 kw, at the same time adding 25 years to the life of the plant.

DOE will provide $184.8 million, or 28%, of the Sporn project's cost, AEP $472.1 million, and Ohio's Coal Development Office $3 million.