GE Energy With Its Partners To Construct IGCC Power Plant With CCS Technology In Queensland

A consortium comprised of GE Energy, Stanwell and Xstrata Coal, are seeking funds from state and central governments in Australia for the planned construction of a 400MW coal-fired power plant project in Queensland.

The facility would be an integrated gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) power plant incorporating Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology. It is planned to be built at Wandoan, 400km west of Brisbane, in the Surat Basin.

The company said that the plant would be a combination of the existing commercial-scale coal gasification technology with CCS methods. The technology used at the plant is expected to recover 90% of carbon emissions. It is in line with Australia's commitment to develop CCS.

GE Energy spokeswoman said that the proposed IGCC-CCS plant, which would be located in Wandoan, southeastern Queensland, would cost approximately AUD3.2 billion, which GE and its partners want to fund with financial support from the governments as well as through debt equity financing from global financial markets. GE stated that the companies would start operations at the power plant in late 2015 to early 2016.

GE Energy spokeswoman, said: “Queensland is ticking all the boxes with its high quality coal, storage geology, technical expertise and financial support from state and federal governments and the coal industry. With 850 billion tonnes of coal available in some 70 countries around the world, you can’t have a sensible discussion about the future global energy mix without acknowledging the necessity of vastly improving the emissions performance of coal-fired power stations.”

The Australian government, in order to support the activities by the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute, an international initiative led by Australia to accelerate development of CCS technology, has allocated AUD100m annually. The instute was created in 2008, with a view to support the Group of Eight leading industrial nations' goal of having at least 20 fully integrated industrial-scale CCS demonstration projects by 2020.