Washinton, D.C., USA (DOE) - The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued the final Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for Round 3 of the Clean Coal Power Initiative (CCPI) which seeks to accelerate the commercial deployment of advanced coal technologies. 

DOE anticipates making multiple awards under this FOA and, depending on fiscal year 2009 appropriations, may be able to provide up to $340 million to be distributed among selected recipients. The projects will be cost-shared, with the award recipient(s) providing at least 50 percent of funds for the project. 

The solicitation contemplates cooperative agreements between the Government and industry to demonstrate, at commercial scale, new technologies that capture carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from coal-fired power plants and either sequester the CO2 or put it to beneficial use.

"The Department of Energy is committed to increasing the Nation’s energy security and addressing global climate change by developing the technologies that will ensure coal can be used to meet our growing energy demand in an environmentally responsible way," Acting Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy Jim Slutz said. 

"This announcement brings clean, coal-derived energy, with no greenhouse gas emissions, one step closer to the commercial market and to the consumer."

The FOA, which is available at Grants.gov and the DOE e-Center, provides instructions for the preparation and submission of an application and outlines the mission need and background, project description, and the primary technical goals and functional performance requirements. The announcement also outlines the criteria by which applications will be evaluated, the terms and conditions of a model cooperative agreement, and the cost-sharing required for government-industry cooperation.

For Round 3, a draft FOA detailing the goals and requirements was released in October 2007 for comment. To garner input, a public workshop was held November 1, 2007, with 105 attendees representing utilities, technology vendors, and project developers.   Changes to the final FOA include:

• Carbon capture technologies must operate at 90 percent carbon capture efficiency.
  
• At least 300,000 tons per year of CO2 must be captured and sequestered or put to beneficial use.
  
• Projects must show significant progress toward carbon capture and sequestration with less than 10 percent increase in electricity costs.
  
• Projects must use domestic mined coal or coal refuse for at least 75 percent of energy input.
  
• Projects must produce electricity as at least 50 percent of the gross energy output.
  
• Repayment of the Government’s share of project costs is not required.

Applications are due by January 15, 2009, and selection announcements are anticipated for July 2009.

Initiated in 2002, the CCPI is a multi-year program that demonstrates advanced coal-based power generation technology at commercial scale.  Eight projects are currently active from two previous rounds of competition. 

The goal of the initiative, which is being executed through a series of competitive solicitations, is to accelerate the readiness of advanced coal technologies for commercial deployment, ensuring that the United States has clean, reliable, and affordable electricity and power. Coal is the nation’s most abundant energy resource, supplying more than 50 percent of domestic electricity.

Full details on the Funding Announcement are available on the DOE Web site.

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For More Information: US Department of Energy (DOE)