CONSOL Energy Demonstrates Two Clean Power Generation Technologies Using Alternative Fuels
January 11 2007 - 11:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
PITTSBURGH, Jan. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CONSOL Energy Inc.
(NYSE:CNX), along with several partners, has successfully
demonstrated two clean power generation technologies which make use
of alternative fuels, including coal waste and coal-based methane,
a greenhouse gas. "Along with all of our partners, CONSOL Energy is
extremely pleased with the performance and potential applications
of these technologies," said J. Brett Harvey, CONSOL Energy
president and chief executive officer. "With demand for electricity
anticipated to grow during the next decade, we believe these clean
power technologies, and others like them, will help to meet that
demand while controlling emissions of greenhouse gases. "Our goal
is to be a major stakeholder in such projects to ensure the
environmentally sound and efficient use of coal, methane gas and
alternative fuels." Kathleen McGinty, Secretary of Pennsylvania's
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), attended a dedication
ceremony today for the technologies at the South Park (Pa.)
facilities of CONSOL Energy's Research and Development Group, which
is overseeing both projects. One of the projects is the pilot-scale
test facility of PFBC (Pressurized Fluidized Bed Combustion)
Environmental Energy Technology Inc.'s (PFBC-EET) clean coal
technology system used to generate power from waste coal and other
fuels. This pilot project is located at CONSOL Energy's R&D
facilities and received a $1.64 million grant from the Pennsylvania
DEP. The second project is a first-of-a-kind, micro-turbine
generator configured to use unprocessed coal mine methane gas
directly from an underground source to generate electricity. The
micro-turbine was installed as part of a Pennsylvania DEP project
grant awarded to CONSOL Energy R&D -- in conjunction with CNX
Gas Corporation (NYSE:CXG), majority owned by CONSOL Energy -- and
is being tested at CONSOL Energy's Bailey underground mine in
western Greene County, Pa. "Governor Rendell's energy and economic
development initiatives are leveraging state and private funding to
turn our environmental problems into business opportunities that
create jobs and enhance the profitability of Pennsylvania
companies," Secretary McGinty said. "Companies like CONSOL Energy
are leading the way toward Pennsylvania's energy future, and
Governor Rendell and I salute them for their vision and
leadership." CONSOL Energy worked with the PFBC-EET project team to
help with the design and construction of a Process Test Facility
(PTF) as part of Phase I (Test Facility Construction/Commissioning)
of the project. The PTF is capable of burning a wide variety of
Pennsylvania waste coals with the objective of providing the
necessary combustion and emissions data needed to design and build
commercial-scale pressurized fluidized bed, electricity-generating
units. Construction of the PFBC's pilot-test facility was completed
last year, with a successful initial test burn of a coal-waste fuel
conducted in December. "Among the environmental benefits in using
this technology are the reduction of emissions of sulfur dioxide,
nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide resulting from
coal combustion," said Doug Farnham, president of PFBC-EET, which
is based in Monessen, Pa. "The PFBC technology can utilize very low
heat-value, wet fuels, such as waste coal, which will assist in the
cleanup of coal waste impoundments around the commonwealth, and
elsewhere, eliminating another environmental problem. "In addition,
the waste byproduct is benign and can be easily backfilled or used
in commercial applications, such as cement, road aggregate and a
variety of building materials." Farnham also pointed out the
economic impact of the technology on a commercial scale. He
explained that each commercial facility would employ "about 1,000
workers during construction and 150 full-time operating and
maintenance personnel." The PFBC technology currently is deployed
on a commercial scale in several countries, including Sweden and
Japan. Both countries maintain some of the strictest emission
standards in the world, and have permitted the operation of six
such plants. For the micro-turbine project, CONSOL Energy partnered
with CNX Gas Corporation and Ingersoll Rand Energy Systems to
install this first-of-a-kind unit. Sited at CONSOL Energy's Bailey
Mine, one of the largest underground coal mines in the world, the
unit uses coal mine methane liberated directly from the underground
workings to generate electricity. "We've been able to demonstrate
that this unit is an innovative way to harvest and use a greenhouse
gas which would normally be vented into the atmosphere," said Nick
DeIuliis, president and chief executive officer, CNX Gas
Corporation. "If the economic evaluation is positive, this
technology can be applied in coalfields either in isolated areas
which may lack access to electricity transmission lines or at
individual commercial power generation sites." The first project of
its kind in the world, the micro-turbine unit -- a small, mobile
electricity generator designed and built by Ingersoll Rand Energy
Systems and modified for the project by CONSOL Energy R&D --
produces about 70 kilowatts of electricity, which is then used by
the Bailey Mine operations. Use of the unit will recover an
otherwise lost resource and will help to curb greenhouse gas and
carbon emissions, according to CONSOL Energy R&D researchers.
CONSOL Energy will donate the monetary value of the electricity
generated during the first full year of operation of the
micro-turbine to the West Greene School District. CONSOL Energy
Inc., a member of the Standard & Poor's 500 Equity Index, has
annual revenues of $3.8 billion. It has 15 bituminous coal mining
complexes in six states. In addition, the company is a majority
shareholder in one of the largest U.S. producers of coal bed
methane gas, CNX Gas Corporation. CONSOL Energy was named one of
America's most admired companies in 2005 by Fortune magazine. It
received the U.S. Department of the Interior's Office of Surface
Mining National Award for Excellence in Surface Mining for the
company's innovative reclamation practices in 2002, 2003 and 2004.
Also in 2003, the company was listed in Information Week magazine's
"Information Week 500" list for its information technology
operations. In 2002, the company received a U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency Climate Protection Award. Additional information
about the company can be found at its web site:
http://www.consolenergy.com/. "Safe Harbor" Statement under the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in
this news release regarding CONSOL Energy's business which are not
historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve
risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and
uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from
those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk
Factors" in the Company's Annual Report or Form 10-K for the most
recently ended fiscal year. DATASOURCE: CONSOL Energy Inc. CONTACT:
Joseph A. Cerenzia of CONSOL Energy Inc., +1-412-831-4062 Web site:
http://www.consolenergy.com/
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