The TEC will be a commercial-scale, coal gasification plant with carbon capture and storage (CCS) capability.
Tenaska, a managing partner for the $3.5 billion project, has signed equipment contracts and licensing agreements with Siemens for four gasifiers that will convert Illinois coal into substitute natural gas. The gas will be used for electricity generation or fed into the interstate natural gas pipeline system.
TEC’s integrated gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) technology will also capture and provide storage for at least 50% of the carbon dioxide (CO2).
Michael Suess, CEO of Fossil Power Generation Division at Siemens Energy, said: “Siemens is pleased to have been chosen to support Tenaska’s goal of employing Illinois coal to provide reliable electricity in an environmentally clean manner.
“By capturing and storing at least 50% of the CO2 it produces, TEC will have emissions comparable to a natural gas-fueled plant. Achieving such a dramatic reduction in emissions by a coal-fed plant is a vital step in the global effort to combat climate change.”
TEC is in advanced development, with the front end engineering and design (FEED) work required by the Illinois Clean Coal Portfolio Standard law under way. The FEED is expected to include more than 100,000 work hours by the time its facility cost report is presented to the Illinois Commerce Commission in early 2010. TEC is projected to be completed and in operation in 2014.
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has supported the TEC by choosing Tenaska to proceed into the term sheet negotiation phase under the DOE Loan Guarantee Programme. Upon completion of due diligence and negotiation of the termsheet and guarantee documentation, the Taylorville project expects to receive a federal government guarantee of its debt of up to $2.579 billion, depending on the final project costs and capital structure.
