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# Odessa coal-to-gas power plant to break ground this year Posted on April 1, 2015 **|** By Ryan Holeywell HOUSTON — A new power plant in West Texas that coul d transform coal into cleaner-burning natural gas is poised to break ground later this yea r, an executive in charge of the project said at a conference in Houston Wednesday. The project, located on a 600-acre site in Odessa, uses coal as a feedstock for a 400 megawatt power plant. But instead of burning it, the plant u ses a chemical process to first strip it of carbon, sulfur and mercury. The result, project leaders say, is a hydrocarbon t hat can fuel the power plan but burns even cleaner than natural gas — even though it was deriv ed from coal. The extra carbon dioxide that gets stripped away is sold to production company Wh iting Petroleum, which can pump in underground through a process known as enhanced oil r ecovery that helps coax more hydrocarbons from the earth. “We’re not actually burning coal; we’re unlocking h ydrocarbons,” said Jason Crew, CEO of Summit Power, the Seattle-based company behind the underta king dubbed the Texas Clean Energy Project. The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded the proje ct $450 million in federal grants. Even though the U.S. is moving to phase-out coal in favor of natural gas-fired plants and alternative energy sources, coal is still poised to be a vital source o f energy for the U.S. and other countries for years to come, said  Jason Lewis, federal project managerat the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory. But Lewis said development of the method, known as ca rbon capture and storage, faces headwinds.  Questions remain about the economics ofcarbon capture projects, among other factors. But the feds hope that by investing in the Odessa pr oject, they’ll be able to learn more about both the technology and finances of the operation and ev entually have a model that can be used elsewhere, allowing coal to be used more cleanly asother fuel sources are developed. “Carbon dioxide emissions will go up unless we do som ething now,” Lewis said. The Odessa project is one of three carbon-capture pr ojects in Texas. **The Petra Nova project** , a joint venture involving NRG Energy Inc., is und er construction in Fort Bend County. Technology added to an existing power p lant is designed to capture carbon before it’s emitted into the atmosphere. **Air Products and Chemicals** is capturing carbon from a hydrogen production fac ility in Port Arthur. All three projects have received federal support. The technology has garnered mixed reaction from theenvironmental community. While the Natural Resources Defense Council says that carbon capture  is one of several solutions that could help reduce carbon pollution from power plants, Sierra Club officials say they prefer focusing resources on the development of wind and s olar power generation. **Categories: Coal**  **, Electricity**  **Tags: clean coal**  **| Coal**  **| Department of Energy** **| Summit Power** 


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