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Basin Electric approves FEED study for carbon capture and storage project

Posted on 12/18/2009

Basin Electric has taken another step forward in its efforts towards the development of an innovative carbon capture and storage project. The project, designed to test the capture of carbon dioxide (CO2) from a conventional coal-based power plant, is viewed as a potential technical solution to address climate change while keeping coal based electricity as an integral part of our nation's energy footprint.

Basin Electric's board of directors authorized an agreement with Doosan Babcock Energy, and technology providers HTC Purenergy, to conduct a Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) study. The FEED will evaluate the feasibility of adding CO2 capture equipment at the Antelope Valley Station near Beulah, N.D. A resolution was unanimously passed this week by the directors of Basin Electric during their regular monthly board meeting.

Ron Harper, Basin Electric CEO and general manager, said that choosing a technology provider is one part of this process. "This decision is yet another step in the long process of identifying solutions to successfully address the challenges of a clean energy future," Harper said. "I applaud our board's vision in these very dynamic times. This was a major decision."

Harper emphasized the board's action does not authorize the ultimate project - it simply directs Basin Electric to conduct the FEED study.
Harper also said HTC has a proven technology that has been used for many years in a variety of applications to successfully capture CO2. The cost of the FEED study is estimated at $6.24 million, of which $2.7 million is being funded by the North Dakota Industrial Commission.

The FEED study will focus on the costs and engineering of retrofitting Antelope Valley to add the CO2 capture equipment and technology to one of the plant's two, 450-megawatt units. It's anticipated the retrofit would capture the equivalent of a 120-megawatt slipstream from exhaust gases.

HTC's proprietary CO2 capture technology, supported by Doosan, is designed to capture 90 percent of the incoming CO2.

In January 2009, the Rural Utilities Service, committed to financing about $300 million toward development of adding CO2 capture technology to AVS. In July 2009, the U.S. Department of Energy announced its intention to enter into a cooperative agreement with Basin Electric for a potential of a $100 million grant to develop a CO2 capture technology.


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