A non-utility power generator is proposing to retrofit some of its more than 9,000 MW of conventional coal-fired powerplants to operate in a clean-coal mode, using integrated gasification combined-cycle operation (IGCC) to reduce emissions and raise efficiency.
Our point is to prove that the competitive sector can operate in every kind of electric generation, says Scott J. Davido, North-east region president of Princeton, N.J.-based power developer NRG Energy Inc. NRG has completed initial feasibility studies for clean-coal, brownfield development at plants in Connecticut, Delaware, New York and Maryland. Almost all of its coal-fired capacity is located in the Northeastern states, seven of which have joined the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to achieve 10% reduction in GHG by 2020 (ENR 9/5 p. 15).