Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle - Installations

Installations

The DOE Clean Coal Demonstration Project helped construct 3 IGCC plants: Wabash River Power Station in West Terre Haute, Indiana, Polk Power Station in Tampa, Florida (online 1996), and Pinon Pine in Reno, Nevada. In the Reno demonstration project, researchers found that then-current IGCC technology would not work more than 300 feet (100m) above sea level. The DOE report in reference 3 however makes no mention of any altitude effect, and most of the problems were associated with the solid waste extraction system. The Wabash River and Polk Power stations are currently operating, following resolution of demonstration start-up problems, but the Piñon Pine project encountered significant problems and was abandoned.

The first generation of IGCC plants polluted less than contemporary coal-based technology, but also polluted water; for example, the Wabash River Plant was out of compliance with its water permit during 1998–2001 because it emitted arsenic, selenium and cyanide. The Wabash River Generating Station is now wholly owned and operated by the Wabash River Power Association.

IGCC is now touted as capture ready and could potentially capture and store carbon dioxide. (See FutureGen)Poland's Kędzierzyn will soon host a Zero-Emission Power & Chemical Plant that combines coal gasification technology with Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS). This installation had been planned, but there has been no information about it since 2009. Other operating IGCC plants in existence around the world are the Alexander (formerly Buggenum) in the Netherlands, Puertollano in Spain, and JGC in Japan.

There are several advantages and disadvantages when compared to conventional post combustion carbon capture and various variations and these are fully discussed at reference 6.