The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has signed a cooperative agreement with Hydrogen Energy California LLC (HECA) to build and demonstrate a hydrogen-powered electric generating facility, with carbon capture and storage, in Kern County, California.
HECA, which is owned by Hydrogen Energy International, BP Alternative Energy, and Rio Tinto, plans to construct an advanced integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant that will produce power by converting fuel–a blend of 75% coal and 25% petroleum coke–into hydrogen and carbon dioxide (CO2). The hydrogen will be used to fuel a combustion turbine, enabling net generation of 250 megawatts (MW) of electricity.
DOE said approximately 90% of the CO2 produced from the gasification process, or about 2 million tons per year, will be transported via pipeline to the Elk Hills oilfield, less than four miles away. There it will be sequestered underground in existing oilfields. By choosing oilfields as the CO2 injection site, oil production is expected to increase in a process known as enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Sequestration is not slated to begin until 2016.
According to the California Governor’s Office, "This project . . . will not only create green jobs in construction, but it will avoid greenhouse gas emissions and further propel us toward a clean energy future."
DOE said other benefits will be realized from the new-concept plant:
- The proposed plant will maximize use of non-potable water for its power production needs, preserving California’s limited fresh water sources.
- The new plant will boost the local economy by creating 1,500 construction jobs and 100 permanent operational positions.
- The project is part of the "so-called" Clean Coal Power Initiative (CCPI), a cost-shared collaboration between the federal government and private industry to increase investment in low-emission coal technology by demonstrating advanced coal-based power generation technologies prior to commercial deployment. The project will be cost-shared and administered by DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy and the National Energy Technology Laboratory.
The estimated capital cost for the project is approximately $2.3 billion. The federal cost-share is limited to $308 million, or just under 11% of the total project costs. The project consists of three phases: project definition (phase I), design and construction (phase II), and demonstration (phase III).
In February, the California Public Utilities Commission told Southern California Edison Company (SCE) that it would have to fund its own participation in HECA and could not pass the expense along to ratepayers.
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