Concerns regarding climate change and energy independence, along with record high natural gas prices, have spurred a renewed interest in coal-fired generation. However, apprehension still exists over the environmental impacts of coal. This has led to a search for clean coal technologies, the most promising of which is coal gasification.
The report provides a concise look at the challenges faced by coal-fired generation, the ability of coal gasification to address these challenges, and the current state of integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power generation.
Topics covered in the report include:
- An overview of Coal Generation including its history, the current market environment, and the status of coal gasification
- A description of gasification technology including processes and systems
- An analysis of the key business factors that are driving increased interest in coal gasification
- An analysis of the barriers that are hindering the implementation of coal gasification projects
- A discussion of Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) technology
- An evaluation of IGCC versus other generation technologies
- A discussion of IGCC project development options
- A discussion of the key government initiatives supporting IGCC development
- Profiles of the key gasification technology companies participating in the IGCC market
- A detailed description of existing and planned coal IGCC projects