• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America to Work with Southern Company to Demonstrate Technology to Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Coal-Fired Generating Plants

Posted on: Monday, 22 June 2009, 08:57 CDT

NEW YORK, June 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc. (MHIA) today announced plans to work with Atlanta-based Southern Company to demonstrate Mitsubishi's carbon dioxide (CO2) capture process at a coal-fired power generation plant, a major step toward the commercialization of technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from coal flue gas.

The CO2 capture technology, known as the KM-CDR process(TM), was developed by MHIA's parent company, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd (MHI) of Japan in conjunction with Kansai Electric of Japan. Detailed engineering and procurement for the project will be conducted by MHIA from its office in Austin, Texas.

The project is being funded by MHI, Southern Company and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), along with other partners. The Mitsubishi system will be installed on an existing unit of Southern Company subsidiary Alabama Power's Plant Barry near Mobile, Ala., to capture carbon dioxide emissions from the equivalent of 25 megawatts of generation capacity.

By pairing this project with the U.S. Department of Energy's Southeast Regional Partnership Phase III sequestration program, the complete process of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) will be demonstrated. Scheduled to be in operation by early 2011, the project will capture 500 metric tons of CO2 per day and supply it for sequestration, or storage, in a deep underground saline rock formation located beneath a nearby oil field.

"We are very excited to be party to this important project that is the critical next step in our development plans for full commercial deployment of the KM-CDR process(TM) for coal-based applications," said Mitch Morimoto, MHIA President and CEO.

"An additional benefit is that the captured CO2 could be used by the oil and gas industry for enhanced oil recovery, which helps to offset the cost of capture," Morimoto added. "For every ton of CO2 the oil companies inject into a depleting oil field, they get a return of several incremental barrels of oil. Our vision is two-fold with our capture technology: to become a leader in the effort to reduce global CO2 emissions, and to optimize the use of our technology to help us to be less dependent on foreign oil imports."

The MHI process offers significantly improved performance over the similar technologies offered today, which ultimately lowers its overall cost impact to electric utilities. The Mitsubishi process has been demonstrated on a smaller scale at a coal-fired station in Japan, and is deployed commercially on natural gas-fired systems around the world.

"The main challenge facing deployment of carbon capture and sequestration technology is demonstrating its effectiveness at a large scale," said David Ratcliffe, Southern Company Chairman, President and CEO. "Our involvement in this and other related projects is part of our commitment to be a leader in finding solutions that make technological, economic and environmental sense."

By completing projects such as this, the partners seek to better understand the impacts of reducing carbon emissions from electricity generation. This first-of-a-kind project involving the MHI process is designed to demonstrate start-to-finish CCS technology, which is an important step in its commercialization.

About Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc. (MHIA), headquartered in New York City, is a powerhouse that drives global business with cutting-edge research and development across various industries. From renewable green-focused power systems, aerospace launch vehicles to passenger ships and much more.

Our products are diverse, but they all have one thing in common, each of them is born out of our hunger for excellence and desire for customer satisfaction. We, at MHIA, create an environment for harmonious interaction between people and technology. MHI is the global leader in large scale post-combustion CO2 capture from natural gas flue gas with five large commercially operating plants and a further four plant coming on line in the next two years. www.mitsubishitoday.com

About Southern Company

With 4.4 million customers and more than 42,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is the premier energy company serving the Southeast. A leading U.S. producer of electricity, Southern Company owns electric utilities in four states and a growing competitive generation company, as well as fiber optics and wireless communications. Southern Company brands are known for excellent customer service, high reliability and retail electric prices that are below the national average. Southern Company is consistently listed among the top U.S. electric service providers in customer satisfaction by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). www.southerncompany.com

SOURCE Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc.

Source: PR Newswire

More News in this Category