Growing energy demands require a diverse portfolio of energy resources, including energy efficiency and renewable, natural gas, coal and nuclear power.
Coal is an important part of the nation’s energy mix, and clean coal technologies are critical to ensure the continued delivery of the reliable and affordable electricity you depend on and to manage greenhouse gas emissions.
Tri-State is a leader in advancing clean coal technologies.
Tri-State’s Greenhouse Gas Management Roadmap, which is focused on technology development, identifies how the association could manage the risks associated with possible constraints on greenhouse gas emissions.
As part of the Roadmap, a Tri-State-supported pilot project is successfully demonstrating the viability of capturing carbon dioxide emitted from a coal-based power plant utilizing a chilled ammonia process. The study is being conducted through the Electric Power Research Institute at the Pleasant Prairie Power Plant near Prairie, Wis.
About 35 utilities other from the United States, Germany, Australia and France have been helping to fund approximately $7 million toward the cost of the project.
Tri-State is also a partner in a $4.8 million research assessment of geologic formations in western Colorado for their ability to store carbon dioxide underground. With the University of Utah, Colorado Geological Survey, Shell Exploration and Production, Schlumberger Carbon Services and the Utah Geological Survey, the partnership was awarded a $3.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Tri-State, Shell and Schlumberger are providing the remainder of the funding.
A goal of the three-year project is to evaluate the potential of carbon dioxide storage at a site near Craig, Colo., where Tri-State operates the Craig Station coal-based power plant.
“A vital part of our New Energy Economy initiative is finding cleaner ways of producing and consuming traditional fuels,” said Colorado Governor Bill Ritter. “This grant award will enable us to expand our research into the viability of climate protection technologies such as carbon sequestration, which is not only important for northwest Colorado, but also for carbon sequestration potential throughout the Rocky Mountain Region.”
Ken Anderson, Tri-State’s executive vice president added, “This site specific carbon dioxide sequestration assessment complements Tri-State’s ongoing participation in collaborative demonstrations of carbon capture technology in power plants. Together, these research efforts can develop options to manage carbon dioxide at a significant scale.”
