Coal news and updates

Northstar Clean Energy to convert coal-fired power plant to biomass

Northstar Clean Energy is looking to convert its Michigan-based coal-fired power plant to use biomass fuel and retrofit the site with a carbon dioxide (CO2) capture process.

Energy technology and services provider Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) was today (26^th July) awarded a contract by Northstar Clean Energy to conduct a bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) engineering study to assess the feasibility of the project.

The study is the first phase of a commercial-scale project partially funded by the US Department of Energy. Babcock & Wilcox Construction will manage construction and mechanical scope of the study and commercial phase.

If given the green light, the CO2 generated by the plant would be captured using B&W’s SolveBright post-combustion CO2 scrubbing process, which provides for flexibility in the regenerable solvent used to isolate CO2 for sequestration or utilisation.

Joe Buckler, Senior Vice-President of Clean Energy at B&W, explains that capturing CO2 from biomass combustion allows a plant to generate energy and be a net-negative emitter of greenhouse gases.

He continues, “This, in turn, allows the plant owner to offset emissions from other sources such as through the sale and trade of carbon credits.”

The plant is jointly owned by NorthStar Clean Energy, a subsidiary of Jackson, Michigan-based CMS Energy Corporation, and Houston, Texas-based Tondu Corp.

Once the biomass and carbon capture conversion is complete, TES Filer City Station will be able to provide power to more than 70,000 homes while producing net-negative CO2 emissions.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), only around two metric tonnes of biogenic CO2 are currently captured per year, mainly in bioethanol applications. Plans for around 20 facilities together capturing around metric tonnes CO2 per year of biogenic emissions have been announced since January 2022.

Based on projects currently in the early and advanced stages of deployment, carbon removal via BECCS could reach just under 50 metric tonnes of CO2 a year by 2030, which falls far short of the approximately 190 metric tonnes of CO2 a year removed through BECCS by 2030 in the Net Zero Emissions by 2050 scenario.

CO2 Summit 2023

Shortages and sourcing challenges are the headline stories everyone’s talking about in CO2 supply. But the whole carbon dioxide value chain is transforming – as this story itself demonstrates.

Applications are not only emerging and evolving but demanding more of the industry and its sourcing too. That calls for new thinking in CO2 storage and distribution, but it also raises questions over the tracking and management of supply chains. How we see CO2 is changing, shifting from waste disposal to a value chain in its own right. This will see the tonnage utilisation of CO2 evolve beyond recognition.

Join gasworld this September as our North American CO2 Summit 2023 assesses the threats, challenges and opportunities ahead in carbon dioxide – how we find it, source it, purify it and deliver it. Learn about the changing face of CO2; the opportunities in direct air capture (DAC); supply chain strategies; carbon credits and legislation; and so much more.

Tickets are selling fast and sold-out early last year, so book your place now. For more information and how to attend, visit https://gasworldconferences.com/conference/north-american-co2-summit-2023-indianapolis/