Tenaska and EDF signed an agreement for the energy facility under which Tenaska has agreed that the plant will contain equipment designed to capture at least 85% of the carbon dioxide (CO2) produced by the plant.
Tenaska will also contract for delivery and sequestration of the captured CO2 to third parties authorized by Texas and federal law to inject the gas into approved geologic formations, the company said.
In addition, the company also agrees the water obtained for operation from outside sources will not exceed 2,000 acre-feet of water per year, enough to support the most water efficient cooling design for the plant.
In return for Tenaska’s agreement, EDF agrees to withdraw from the contested case hearing and not to protest Tenaska’s draft air quality permits issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. EDF also will not seek to delay the granting of any future air quality permits required for the Trailblazer Energy Center, and will not assist others who might seek to do so.
Jim Marston, national energy program director of EDF, said: “The era of building traditional coal plants without carbon capture and storage is over. This groundbreaking agreement addresses carbon as well as water, a scarce resource in that region. Tenaska is to be commended for ending business-as-usual coal-fired power production.”
Tenaska claims that the Trailblazer facility will capture 85% to 90% of the CO2 that will otherwise be emitted. The company plans to send the CO2 to nearby Permian basin oil fields for use in enhanced oil recovery.
On April 6, Tenaska revealed its decision to employ water-conserving dry cooling technology at the Trailblazer facility. Dry cooling equipment uses air to cool water and steam rather than evaporating water. Because dry cooling reduces evaporation, the consumption of water is reduced by more than 90% when compared to traditional ‘wet cooling’ methods, the company said.
