SCE to Conduct Commercial-Scale Advanced Coal Technology Study

Southern California Edison will conduct a $50 million two-year feasibility study combining several advanced coal technologies at full commercial scale, after receiving approval from the California Public Utilities Commission.

Southern California Edison’s (SCE) advanced coal generation study combines a chemical process that captures as much as 90% of the CO2 in domestic coal, which is reportedly the highest level targeted by a US advanced coal initiative.

The study will also be seeking to produce hydrogen fuel and emitting only 10% of the carbon released by an integrated gasification combined-cycle coal project without carbon capture. SCE noted that it will try to apply these technologies in a full-scale, 600MW commercial generation facility.

In October 2007, the US Department of Energy announced a grant of more than $65 million to SCE and other participants in the Southwest Regional Partnership for Carbon Sequestration to conduct one of the US’s first large-scale carbon sequestration studies.

Richard Rosenblum, SCE’s senior vice president and head of power production, said: “Coal is our nation’s most abundant, economic and secure fuel source. This ground-breaking analysis is part of Southern California Edison’s continuing effort to push forward new generating technologies needed to build a low-carbon future.”