Edwardsport IGCC

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Edwardsport IGCC is an integrated gasification combined cycle power plant being constructed by Duke Energy near the city of Edwardsport, In.

The existing 160 megawatts of electrical generation currently on the Edwardsport site will be retired as the new 600 megawatt plant comes online. The new plant is slated to be a base-load station, capable of supplying Indiana with additional capacity as it is needed in the future. The plant will also be carbon capture-ready.

The gasification process involves converting coal into a combustible syngas that will be used in a combustion turbine. The exhaust gases are routed through a large heat recovery steam generator that will be used in conjunction with a steam turbine to further increase the plant's efficiency.

Edwardsport's pollution will be greatly reduced, as as particulate matter will be removed from the syngas as well as mercury. The coal-derived synthetic gas is much cleaner than conventional coal combustion, and it is easier to clean to greater extents. Coal gasification allows carbon capture to occur before the fuel is combusted-a much easier and economically feasible operation than carbon capture of exhaust gases.

It is expected that Edwardsport IGCC will be online during 2011.