Alstom Supports American Electric Power (AEP) Decision on Next Phase of Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) Project

Company Calls for Policy Certainty on Climate Change

Washington, D.C. -- Alstom today issued the following statement in support of American Electric Power’s (AEP’s) decision to postpone additional CCS testing at its Mountaineer power plant. Alstom partnered with AEP on an earlier, first-phase demonstration at Mountaineer, which successfully demonstrated Alstom’s chilled ammonia carbon capture technology.

“Alstom values our partnership with AEP, and we respect and support their decision. We also are grateful to the Department of Energy (DOE) and its National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) for their important role in the Mountaineer project.

State and federal policy makers must recognize the long-term implications of failing to adopt policies that establish the economic certainty needed to drive development of low carbon energy technologies. In addition, policy makers should fund large scale demonstration projects and allow utilities to recover investments in such projects, which are essential if the industry is to move forward in de-carbonizing electricity in the most cost-effective manner possible.

If we deviate from the critical path for commercializing CCS technology and do not build large-scale demonstration plants, it will take longer to drive down the technology cost curve and significantly increase delivered electricity costs.

The first-phase demonstration project at Mountaineer was a critically important step towards commercializing a carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology because it was the first project at a coal fired power plant to demonstrate that carbon dioxide (CO2) can be captured, transported, and safely stored.

Demonstration projects conducted to-date have validated CCS technologies that capture and store CO2 and hence de-carbonize fossil fuels. For example, the successful Mountaineer phase-one validation project met all the success criteria established at the beginning of the project, which included achieving a CO2 capture rate of up to 90%, producing high purity CO2, demonstrating the process as rigorous and reliable, and meeting targeted energy consumption goals.

Larger CCS demonstration projects, such as the second phase demonstration originally planned at Mountaineer, and other DOE projects, must be adequately funded now for CCS technology to continue advancing and be commercially available when our customers need to meet future CO2 regulations.

Alstom remains committed to CCS technology and will continue working with partners around the world to advance demonstration projects that are needed to commercialize CCS technology options as soon as possible.”

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About Alstom
Alstom is a global leader in the world of power generation, power transmission and rail infrastructure and sets the benchmark for innovative and environmentally friendly technologies. Alstom builds the fastest train and the highest capacity automated metro in the world. It provides turnkey integrated power plant solutions and associated services for a wide variety of energy sources, including hydro, nuclear, gas, coal and wind, and it offers a wide range of solutions for power transmission, with a focus on smart grids. The Group employs 93,500 people in 100 countries and had sales of more than USD $29 billion in 2010/11. www.alstom.com

Press Contact
Tim Brown, Alstom (North America) – 1 860 713 9530
timothy.s.brown@power.alstom.com
 

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