China Huaneng Plans Clean-coal Technology Exports to the U.S.

    State-owned power developer China Huaneng Group has signed an agreement to export its clean coal technology to Pennsylvania. The agreement calls for China Huaneng's subsidiary Xi'an Thermal Power Research Institute to supply the Texas-based Future Fuels with two-stage pulverized coal pressure gasification technology. The technology is expected to be incorporated in Future Fuel's 150 MW integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant to be built in 2010 in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.

    The technology can reduce the carbon dioxide emitted from a standard coal-fired power plant. China has focused on reducing emissions from its coal plants by replacing older plants with more efficient models. These upgrades have reduced the coal needed to produce a kilowatt-hour of electricity from 370 grams in 2005 to 349 grams in 2008. New technologies in development promise one kWh for just 283 grams of coal.