ALLEGHENY to install scrubbers at Fort Martin

Charleston Gazette, page 2-C, March 16, 2007.

Maidsville --- Allegheny Energy Inc. has hired a contractor to install scrubbers to reduce pollution at its Fort Martin power station, the company announced this past Thursday.

The Greensburg, Pa-based company signed the agreement with Washington Group International, which will install flue gas desulfurization systems, also called scrubbers, to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions at its Maidsville power plant.

The project is expected to create 350 construction jobs, the company said in a new release.  Other full-time jobs to operate and maintain the equipment will be created once construction is complete.

"This project will bring cleaner air and more jobs to West Virginia, and allow us to use more locally sourced coal,"  Paul J. Evanson, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Allegheny Energy, said in the prepared statement.

The state Public Service Commission has approved the company's plan to pay for the $550 million pollution control project. The company will sell $450 million worth of bonds and increase customer rates to repay them, Allegheny has said.  The typical residential customer's bill of about $70 a month is expected to go up by about $3.50 a month.

The installation of the scrubbers is scheduled to be completed in 2009.

[NOTE:  Allegheny Energy is planning to assemble scrubbers for the Hatsfield Ferry plant also at the Ft. Martin plant, then transport them via river barges downstream to the Hatsfield Ferry plant, opposite Masontown, Pa, which is just a few miles north of Pt. Marion.  Work space at Hatsfield Ferry is limited. ]

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Alstom and American Electric Power sign agreement to bring C02 capture technology to commercial scale by 2011 

Press Release for Alstom: 15 March 2007

Alstom, a full-service power industry services company based in France, and American Electric Power (AEP) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding to bring Alstom’s chilled ammonia process for CO2 capture to full commercial scale of up to 200 MW by 2011. This is a major step in demonstrating post-combustion carbon capture. The technology has the great advantage versus other technologies of being fully applicable not only for new power plants, but also for the retrofit of existing coal-fired power plants.

The project will be implemented in two phases. In phase one, Alstom and AEP will jointly develop a 30 MWth product validation plant that will capture CO2 from flue gas emitted from AEP’s 1300 MW Mountaineer Plant located in New Haven, West Virginia. It is targeted to capture up to 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year. The captured CO2  will be designated for geological storage in deep saline aquifers at the site. This pilot is scheduled for start-up at the end of 2008 and will operate for approximately 12-18 months.

In phase two, Alstom will design, construct and commission a commercial scale of up to 200 MW CO2  capture system on one of the 450 MW coal-fired units at its Northeastern Station in Oologah, Oklahoma. The system is scheduled for start-up in late 2011. It is expected to capture about 1.5 million tonnes of CO2  a year, commercially validating this promising technology. The CO2 captured at Northeastern Station will be used for enhanced oil recovery.

Alstom’s post-combustion process uses chilled ammonia to capture CO2. This process dramatically reduces the energy required to capture carbon dioxide and isolates it in a highly concentrated, high-pressure form. In laboratory testing sponsored by EPRI and others, Alstom’s process has demonstrated the potential to capture over 90% of CO2 at a cost that is far less expensive than other carbon capture technologies. The isolated CO2, once captured, can be used commercially or stored in suitable underground geological sites.

Philippe Joubert, President of Alstom Power Systems, said: ”We are extremely proud that AEP has chosen Alstom’s clean coal technology for this major project.  Our partnership with AEP will result in the world’s first  clean coal power plant and will be applicable not only for new plants but also for existing power plants”.

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