GE and BP plan to jointly build a 250 megawatt coal power plant that is designed to capture and store 90 percent of emissions. The plant, near Bakersfield, Calif., will be among the world's few Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) plants, according to a press release.
IGCC is a pre-combustion technology that removes carbon and other emissions before the coal is burned.
GE also worked on an IGCC plant in Barstow, Calif. In 2007, GE and BP agreed to develop technology for five IGCC plants, which would be operated under the Hydrogen Energy banner. HEI is a joint venture of BP Alternative Energy and Rio Tinto Hydrogen.
In addition to reducing CO2 emissions, the IGCC plant should reduce sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxide, mercury and particulates. The plant also is said to operate with 30 percent less water needs.
