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$1.5 Billion Coal Gasification Station Planned for Ashtabula
HOUSTON -- Baard Energy LLC is in the preliminary stages of development for the possible construction of a $1.5 billion, 1,200-megawatt integrated gasification combined-cycle plant to be located in Ashtabula, Ohio, according to a report released today by Industrial Information Resources Inc.Coal gasification is a process that converts solid coal into a synthetic gas, composed primarily of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Coal can be gasified in various ways by properly controlling the mix of coal, oxygen and steam within the gasifier. Most gasification processes being demonstrated use oxygen as the oxidizing medium.Details of the project were not provided.In February, Baard Renewables, a subsidiary of Baard Energy, announced plans to build an ethanol plant in Coshocton, Ohio.Between late August and October 2004, several major energy corporations -- including American Electric Power, Cinergy, FirstEnergy Corp., Consol Energy, General Electric and Bechtel -- expressed strong interest in building commercial Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle IGCC power plants, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.In September, Consol and FirstEnergy formed a joint task force to evaluate advanced clean coal technologies, including integrated gasification combined cycle, combustion of waste coal, and other technologies that can potentially meet future baseload power generation needs while reducing the overall environmental impact of generating electricity from coal.A task force that includes engineering and business developments staffs of the two companies is evaluating the commercial feasibility of various advanced technologies using coal to generate electricity that may be pursued by the two companies or in partnership with various government entities, officials said."The industrial heartland of the United States contains vast resources of coal that could be tapped to generate abundant electricity at affordable prices," J. Brett Harvey, president and chief executive officer of Consol Energy, said at that time, noting that Consol Energy holds substantial coal reserves in the east and FirstEnergy has the ability to convert that coal into electricity. "As electricity consumption in our region has grown, we have not seen a corresponding increase in baseload generation," said Anthony J. Alexander, president and chief executive officer of FirstEnergy. "In fact, it's been more than a decade since a new baseload power plant was built in Ohio. Any meaningful effort to expand baseload generation in Ohio and Pennsylvania should recognize the central role of our region's most abundant energy resource, coal -- and specifically, the need to use this resource in an environmentally responsible manner."According to Harvey, coal-producing states such as Ohio and Pennsylvania would be very supportive of advanced technology projects, particularly those that use coal waste from abandoned sites as a fuel to generate electricity. "Based on my conversations with state leaders, I am convinced that viable projects that can convert coal wastes into electricity while reclaiming the old coal disposal sites at the same time would receive enthusiastic support," he said. "