Agency picks 16 R&D projects by companies, universities
THE DEPARTMENT OF Energy announced Aug. 25 that it has committed $41 million to promote cost-cutting technology for post-combustion carbon dioxide capture at coal-fired power plants. While carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology has advanced in recent years, commercial implementation has been hampered by parasitic loss — the amount of energy diverted to capture and compress CO2. Current CCS technology requires 20-30 percent of a plant’s net electricity generation.
The DOE selected 16 projects for funding. The companies and universities performing the research and development will contribute a share of the overall cost. Each project will fall under one of three primary areas of investigation: solvents, sorbents, or membranes.
According to the DOE, the Obama Administration has set a goal of developing cost-effective CCS technologies within 10 years and bringing five to 10 commercial demonstration projects online by 2016.
"Charting a path toward clean coal is essential to achieving our goals of providing clean energy, creating American jobs, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu. “It will also help position the United States as a leader in the global clean energy race.”
