FutureGen is an initiative to equip multiple new clean coal power plants with advanced carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology.
A Restructured Approach On February 27, 2003, the federal government announced FutureGen, a $1 billion initiative to create a coal-based power plant focused on demonstrating a revolutionary clean coal technology that would produce hydrogen and electricity and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. The FutureGen project was initiated in response to the National Energy Policy of May 2001, which emphasized the need for diverse and secure energy sources that could largely be provided by America's most abundant domestic energy resource, coal.
While FutureGen's goal for a technological solution to produce electricity from coal in an environmentally responsible way remains the same, the estimated cost of the FutureGen project has risen sharply and could have risen even higher. However, technological advancements over the past five years have allowed a restructuring of FutureGen to evolve from a large-scale R&D testing lab to multiple commercial-scale demonstration plants.
FutureGen's restructured approach proposes federal funding to demonstrate cutting-edge CCS technology at multiple commercial-scale integrated gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) or advanced coal power plants. It includes engagement with the international community which will remain integral to advancing CCS technology on a global scale. Under this approach, multiple commercial plants would each produce at least 300 megawatts of electricity (or be of "commercial size").
The restructured approach will focus on separating carbon dioxide (CO2) for CCS, and does not include hydrogen production, which the concept announced in 2003 included. Hydrogen production for commercial use will remain an important component of the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative and other research initiatives aimed at fundamentally changing the way we power our vehicles.
The success of federally-sponsored R&D in IGCC and CCS technologies has made FutureGen's accelerated, restructured approach possible. This approach will provide more electricity from multiple clean coal plants, at least twice as much CO2 sequestered, a more cost-effective strategy to limit taxpayer exposure to escalating costs, and provide for wider use and more rapid commercialization of CCS technology than the concept announced in 2003. This more focused approach provides an all-around better investment for U.S. taxpayers.
Funding Opportunity Announcement
DOE released a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) on June 24, 2008. The FOA requested proposals be returned to DOE by October 8, 2008. The Department anticipates selecting projects by December 2008.
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PROGRAM CONTACTS
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Joseph Giove Office of Fossil Energy (FE-22) U.S. Department of Energy Washington, DC 20585 301-903-4130 |
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Samuel Biondo Office of Fossil Energy (FE-22) U.S. Dept. of Energy Washington, DC 20585 301-903-2700 |
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Scott Klara National Energy Technology Laboratory PO Box 10940 U.S. Dept. of Energy Pittsburgh, PA 15236 412-386-4864 |
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