Australian government moves clean coal development forward

The Wandoan Power Consortium's proposal for one of the world’s first integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plants with carbon capture and storage (CCS) has been shortlisted for the next stage of the federal government’s CCS Flagship Program. The Wandoan Power Consortium is working to develop a state-of-the-art cleaner coal plant in Queensland.

“We’re pleased with today’s announcement by the federal government of support for the Wandoan IGCC project,” said Phil Solomon, Commercial Director, Wandoan Power Consortium. “It demonstrates Australia’s leadership in this industry and its full commitment towards a lower carbon future and a sustainable future for coal, Australia’s number one export.”

The proposed Wandoan Power Project IGCC plant with carbon capture would use Queensland’s abundant coal resources and would be an important step in shaping the future of cleaner coal technology for power generation in Australia and around the world. GE, one of the consortium’s two partners, has been at the forefront of IGCC technology for more than two decades. Today, GE’s IGCC technology is being deployed at Duke Energy’s power generation plant currently under construction in Edwardsport, Indiana. It is expected to be the world’s largest IGCC facility when it reaches commercial operation in 2012. Stanwell Corporation is working with GE as the Wandoan Power Consortium to develop the project, which would produce 400 MW of power pre-carbon capture and would be capable of capturing 90% of the CO₂ in the fuel stream for future storage. The consortium is working cooperatively with Xstrata as the CTS Alliance on CO₂ storage for the project and for coal supply.