New power plant's emissions unwanted
USC researches carbon removal technology
By John Temple Ligon
Temple@TheColumbiaStar.com

In the U.S, plenty of coal is available for the future of energy. America has enough coal for anywhere from 200 to 450 years, energy experts say. But the desired technology in carbon capture and sequestration in a coal-fired power plant is still not readily available or affordable.

In S.C. another coal burning power plant, adding to the existing 13, is proposed by Santee Cooper for southern Florence County. The new plant is designed to produce 1320 megawatts of electric power while it emits annually 8.7 million tons of carbon dioxide.

Carbon dioxide is the primary greenhouse gas responsible for climate change.

To further research in carbon capture and sequestration, Santee Cooper recently gave USC $5 million. Half of the gift is dedicated to a sustaining endowment, and the other half goes immediately into carbon removal research. USC hopes for another $5 million in matching funds from the state of S.C.'s Center for Economic Excellence.

The program could employ up to 30 researchers in carbon removal at USC's College of Engineering and Computing. The research program is expected to do the following:

+ Accelerate research in environmental control technology to maximize the economic benefits of coal- generated electricity.

+ Serve as a catalyst for new spin- off companies to market the new technology.

+ Ensure the continued availability of low- cost electric power to current and new industrial and residential customers.

+ Protect the environment by reducing carbon, mercury and acid emissions as the industry meets an escalating demand for affordable electricity.

Meanwhile in New York State, $100 million worth of pollution control technology was pledged for an existing coal- fired power plant near Stony Point. The 350 MW plant's owner, Mirant New York, agreed to install the new technology in a settlement with the state's attorney general. The company later decided against the expensive upgrades, and the attorney general had the plant closed.

In S.C. no plant has been closed by the state's attorney general due to emissions.

Retrofitting existing plants is more difficult and less economically feasible than building new coal-fired plants with the latest technology, what is hoped to surface at USC's College of Engineering and Computing. Congress is moving forward to help.

Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D- NM) and Sen. Pete Domenici (R- NM) have joined with five other senators to introduce a bill to improve the Energy Department's sponsorship of research in carbon capture and sequestration.

Carbon capture is one thing, scientists say, and there are three methods under experimentation: (1) freeze the gases as they come out of the smokestack and bind them to a liquid chemical after combustion, (2) modify the coal before it is burned, (3) change the air the coal is burned with.

Carbon sequestration is altogether another challenge. Determining how to store the carbon might be more difficult than capturing it.

But even once methods are perfected to remove and store carbon, the new technology cannot be applied to existing coal- fired power plants. The new 1320 MW plant proposed by Santee Cooper for southern Florence County cannot take advantage of the very carbon emissions research Santee Cooper is funding at USC.

Everything Al Gore says about global warming can be challenged, especially the business about future frequency and ferocity of hurricanes. But there's enough evidence on the danger of carbon emissions to suggest Santee Cooper might want to put its new plant on hold and wait for the delivery of the technology it is funding.