Current and Future Power Generation Technologies: Pathways to Reducing the Cost of Carbon Capture for Coal-fueled Power Plants☆

Abstract As part of the United States Department of Energy's Office of Fossil Energy, the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) implements research, development and demonstration (RD&D) that is focused on maximizing system efficiency and performance while minimizing the costs of coal-based power production with carbon capture and storage. In order to evaluate the benefits and market competitiveness of ongoing RD&D, NETL conducts engineering studies to evaluate the cost and performance of plants integrating multiple advanced technologies currently under development. This paper evaluates two different coal conversion pathways – combustion and gasification – and their potential to provide low-cost, low-carbon power from coal.