Southern Co. (SO) yesterday said that it has agreed with a Chinese utility for the first commercial use of the firm’s proprietary new low-emission coal-based electricity production.
The technology – known as the Transport Integrated Gasification (TRIG) – is an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) technology that produces electricity with lower emissions than traditional coal power plants. It converts coal to synthetic gas, from which pollutants can be removed before being burned in a combustion turbine to produce electricity. The technology can also be used with lower grades of coals that are plentiful in China.
TRIG has been developed at an Alabama research facility by Southern Co., in collaboration with KBR Inc. (KBR) and other partners, which include the U.S. Department of Energy.
Per the terms of the agreement, the developers of TRIG will provide Beijing Guoneng Yinghui Clean Energy Engineering Co. Ltd. with licensing, engineering services and proprietary equipment for the implementation of the technology at a 120-megawatt (MW) power plant operated by Dongguan Tianming Electric Power Co. Ltd. in Guandong Province of China.
At the plant, the TRIG technology will be added to an existing gas-fired, combined cycle plant so that it can use clean synthetic gas from coal as its fuel for generating electricity, instead of fuel oil. The facility is expected to commence service in 2011.
We see the licensing agreement as an important milestone in Southern Company’s efforts to successfully apply and market its TRIG clean coal technology to generate power more cleanly and efficiently.
A Southern Co. unit, Mississippi Power Co. is also planning to use the TRIG technology at a proposed 582-MW IGCC plant in Kemper County, Mississippi. This would include the capture and sequestration of 65% of the carbon dioxide emitted by the plant.
Atlanta-based Southern Co. acquires, develops, builds, owns and operates power production and delivery facilities and provides a broad range of energy-related services to utilities and industrial companies in selected countries around the world. The company businesses include independent power projects, integrated utilities, a distribution company, and energy trading and marketing businesses outside the southeastern U.S.
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