FutureGen and Carbon Capture and Sequestration, Senate views
John Kerry (D-MA) chaired a hearing on 9 April for the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation's Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Innovation. The hearing, titled "Coal Gasification Technologies and the Need for Large Scale Projects", discussed the implications of the restructuring of FutureGen, a planned commercial-scale, near-zero emissions coal power plant.
FutureGen was established in 2003 as a plan for the design and construction of a single 275 megawatt power plant. However in January 2008 the Department of Energy (DOE) announced that FutureGen had been restructured as an initiative to equip multiple existing coal-fired power plants with the same integrated gasification combined-cycle coal (IGCC) and carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology that the original FutureGen plant would have used. These technologies can allow almost zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to be released into the atmosphere.
According to witnesses at the hearing, the three major hurdles for commercial-scale demonstrations of low-emission coal power plants are technological, financial, and political.
However, witnesses disagreed on the readiness of commercial-scale IGCC-CCS technology. Mr. James Childress, Executive Director of the Gasification Technologies Council, said that no programs are currently ready to go forward with CCS. Dr. Joseph P. Strakey Jr., Chief Technology Officer for the DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory, said that there are some CCS programs which are currently and safely operating.
FutureGen was originally slated to cost $1 billion, but more recent cost estimates are $1.5 billion. The increasing costs were a major reason that the Administration chose to restructure FutureGen.
Chairman Kerry asked the witnesses what Congress could do legislatively to promote commercial-scale use of CCS technology. Mr. John Novak, Executive Director of Federal and Industry Activities on Environment and Generation at the Electric Power Research Institute, said that a cap or price on carbon emissions would make it economical for companies to use CCS. Mr. Hawkins stated that government subsidies would help begin CCS implementation. Childress added that predictability is needed in public policy so that companies know they will get a return on their technological investments. Unless there is a financial incentive for energy companies to install these expensive technological upgrades, it is unlikely that CCS or IGCC will be a part of U.S. coal-fired power production in the near future.
