Peabody Energy Joins China’s ‘GreenGen’
Peabody Energy became the only non-Chinese equity partner in “GreenGen,” the first near-zero emissions coal-fueled power plant with carbon capture and storage which is under development in China. Peabody joined the initiative at a formal signing ceremony at the prestigious State Guest House in Beijing. The agreement was announced during the Sino-U.S. Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade meetings attended by U.S. and Chinese dignitaries, including U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Henry M. Paulson, Jr. and China’s Vice Premier Wu Yi.
The US$1 billion GreenGen project will use advanced coal-based technologies to generate electricity. It will be capable of hydrogen production and will advance carbon dioxide capture and storage, providing a clean energy prototype to address carbon dioxide concerns. Led by managing partner China Huaneng Group, the GreenGen Company will design, develop and operate an integrated gasification combined cycle power plant near Tianjin, southeast of Beijing. A 250-megawatt plant will be built in the initial phase, expanding to 650-megawatts in later phases. Project design and review is complete, a site has been selected at the Lingang Industrial Park, and construction is expected to commence in early 2008, with the first phase of the plant expected on line by 2009. The project includes multiple phases for additional generation and carbon capture.