A new 21st Century coal plant utilizing state-of-the-art technology began running today in Knox County, Ind., says Duke Energy Corp. to E&E.
The Edwardsport Generating Station will replace older coal plants and offers immediate environmental benefits. “The 618-megawatt integrated gasification combined cycle Edwardsport plant will produce more electricity but about 70 percent less sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions compared with the plant it is replacing. The new plant will cut greenhouse gas emissions by half, ” reported E&E.
Clean coal technology has become a commercial reality in states like Indiana, where coal has powered the state for “more than a century,” said Doug Esamann, president of Duke Energy Indiana. Other high-tech facilities, like the John W. Turk Power Plant in Arkansas, showcase the benefits of clean coal technologies. The plant, which generates “electricity more efficiently at higher temperatures, requiring less coal and producing fewer emissions to generate the same amount of power as existing coal units,” is the first ultra-supercritical generating unit to go into operation in the U.S., as reported previously by ACCCE.