Alstom Expert Testifies Before Congress on Path for CCS Development

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The path to cleaner electricity is clear, but progress has stalled.

That was the message Alstoms Robert Hilton delivered earlier today during a hearing called by the Energy and Power Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee.

Hiltons remarks focused on the current status of carbon capture and storage technology, or CCS, and the next steps in moving it towards commercial viability.

According to his testimony, CCS is, within the realm of innovation, no different than any other technology under development. It is required to move through various stages of development at consistently larger scale or size. (click here to read the full written testimony)

While Alstom has partnered with U.S. customers on several, highly-successful CCS demonstration projects, Hilton explained how a lack of funding support and regulatory clarity has hindered the launch of larger projects using full-size CCS systems. These demos, he stated, are essential to shaping the commercial guarantees power generators will require before installing CCS equipment on new or existing plants. Full-size testing also would identify opportunities to drive down the cost of installing and operating CCS units.

The hearing was called to examine regulations requiring new coal-fired power plants to be equipped with carbon capture and storage units. While some have stated that such regulation would accelerate the maturation of CCS, Hilton outlined a disconnect between the proposed timeline for implementing these rules and the current lack of momentum on proposed commercial-scale CCS projects.

One such project at AEP Mountaineers power station, where Alstom and AEP implemented a joint proof-of-concept demonstration of Alstoms chilled ammonia CCS process, was shelved when the utility was unable to secure regulatory relief for the cost of the project.

The first-phase CCS project at Mountaineer proved the technology capable of capturing up to 90% of the CO2 from a stream of flue gas emitted from the plant, which is located along the Ohio River in West Virginia. The project also was the first of its kind to prove the feasibility of capturing and storing CO2 in underground rock formations located on the plant property.

In his closing remarks, Hilton offered a reminder of coals vital, job-creating role in Americas energy mix, and reinforced the development of CCS technology as a way to sustain that role into a lower-carbon future. He also emphasized that Alstom is a global leader in clean and environmentally friendly technologies and provides power generation technology for coal, oil, natural gas, hydro, geothermal, solar and nuclear.

Alstom provides equipment, services and technology used to generate electricity from a wide range of sources.