As the United States’ electricity needs grow, so does the call for new technologically innovative power plants that generate electricity by using abundant, inexpensive coal in ways that significantly reduce the release of emissions.
Tenaska, Inc., an experienced energy developer, is evaluating a site east of Sweetwater, Texas, in which to construct and operate the Tenaska Trailblazer Energy Center, a next-generation power generating station. From day one, the Tenaska Trailblazer Energy Center, fueled by low-sulfur coal, will capture carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas considered by many to be associated with global warming, and provide for its geologic storage. No new conventional coal-fueled power plant in the United States today utilizes carbon management technology on a commercial scale.
The Tenaska Trailblazer Energy Center will generate approximately 765 megawatts (MW) gross and 600 MW net, using best available supercritical steam, pulverized coal technology. Six hundred megawatts is enough power to meet the around-the-clock needs of approximately 600,000 homes. This plant will be designed to capture 85 to 90 percent of the carbon dioxide produced by combustion and deliver it via pipeline to Permian Basin oil fields for use in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and ultimately, geologic storage.
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Economic Impact
If built in Texas, the Trailblazer Energy Center would:
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Help sustain enhanced oil recovery in the Permian Basin, strengthening the West Texas economy by adding more than $1 billion of oil production annually and reducing dependence on foreign oil; |
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Boost the local economy spending more than $2 billion for construction out of a total estimated project cost of more than $3 billion; |
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Provide 1,500 to 2,000 jobs at peak construction; |
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Create more than 100 well-paying permanent positions to sustain operations; and |
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Diversify fuel sources for power production to insulate Texans from volatile natural gas prices which can lead to higher electricity prices. Seventy-two percent of ERCOT’s electric capacity currently is fueled by natural gas. |
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