Groundbreaking Confirmed For Clean Coal Plant In Texas (Amarillo, Midland: house, club)

[shiphead]

Originally Posted by http://fronterasdesk.org/

ODESSA, Texas — A so-called "clean coal" power plant project will break ground in the Permian Basin of West Texas in a matter of weeks. The burgeoning oil and gas extraction needs more energy to sustain a boom that geologists predict will last as long as 70 years.

Every day, you can hear oil rigs operating around the clock. It’s the sound of money in the Permian Basin of West Texas, oil rigs sucking crude from the shale 500 feet below in Midland and Odessa.

But the region’s rapidly expanding infrastructure needs more energy. The plant, known as the Texas Clean Energy Project, has just closed on a billion-dollar investment from China’s Import-Export Bank to go along with a half billion in U.S. federal government funding.

Odessa’s Director of Economic Development Guy Andrews said environmental concerns are unfounded — namely that project opponents claim that ‘clean coal’ is an oxymoron.

”And then by capturing 90 percent of the emissions that makes it very clean. That’s far beyond what the government is expecting," Andrews said.

Groundbreaking is expected to start within weeks after numerous delays and upward budget revisions. The Sierra Club has issued a statement saying there’s no such thing as "clean coal."

Project proponents claim the 400 megawatts the plant will produce is only part of the benefit to the region. By-products created in the power generation process with be used to fertilize area farms while the project recycle and reuse most of the water it needs to burn the coal.

http://fronterasdesk.org/content/909...al-plant-texas

Congrats guys.

[TT Dave]

Sounds like good news to me! If they are exceeding government emissions standards that says a lot.

[Trainwreck20]

Sierra club isn't really interested in 'clean', they are interested in the demise of coal as a power source. Agree or disagree, it is the driver behind all their rhetoric.

The problem with carbon capture and sequestration coal plants is the loss of power - 35-45% of all the power generated is lost in the C&S process. Whether the market is out there to 'buy' the captured (and possibly converted) CO2 is yet to be proven, but that could offset some of the losses.

[High_Plains_Retired]

Interesting stuff.

[Midessan]

The Chinese are partners in this project. If the technology could be developed in Odessa then implemented at Chinese coal plants, that would do much, much, more for the environment than the Sierra Club ever could.

[Trainwreck20]

The Chinese are partners in this project. If the technology could be developed in Odessa then implemented at Chinese coal plants, that would do much, much, more for the environment than the Sierra Club ever could.

Just 5 or 6 years ago, China was putting on the equivalent of something like 6 full sized coal power plants a month with little to no modern emission controls. They have a long way to go before they start even thinking about reaching 'normal' levels of 'typical' pollutants, much less controlling green house gasses.

[High_Plains_Retired]

I wonder where the coal will be coming from for the Odessa plant? I think most, if not all, the coal that powers the two plants near Muleshoe and Earth, Texas is from Wyoming.

[Trainwreck20]

Almost all Texas coal has been Powder River Basin (PRB) coal from Wyoming area for decades. It is pretty low sulfur and low in mercury, so it is good stuff. I would expect they would continue to use it as a source.

[losttechnician]

Originally Posted by High_Plains_Retired

I wonder where the coal will be coming from for the Odessa plant? I think most, if not all, the coal that powers the two plants near Muleshoe and Earth, Texas is from Wyoming.

Only one of those plants is coal, the other being natural gas fired. There is a coal fired plant in Amarillo that also uses PRB coal.

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

Almost all Texas coal has been Powder River Basin (PRB) coal from Wyoming area for decades. It is pretty low sulfur and low in mercury, so it is good stuff. I would expect they would continue to use it as a source.

Several of the plants in East Tx are fired with lignite, from locally mines. PRB coal is pretty good stuff as far as coal goes, though.

[Trainwreck20]

Oh, yeah, there is local lignite, but no local coal and almost no east coast coal. A bit of coal from out of country. Lignite is like 30%+ water, though, and low Btu value, so expensive as hell to ship.