ALLENTOWN, Pa., Sept. 12,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL)
announced today it has executed an agreement with the U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations
(OCED) for an award up to $72
million to help fund a groundbreaking carbon dioxide (CO₂)
capture research and development project at the company's natural
gas combined-cycle generation facility in Louisville, Kentucky. OCED awarded PPL with
the first tranche of funding – $4.9
million – to begin Phase 1 activities.
The carbon capture project – developed in partnership with the
University of Kentucky and others –
represents a total investment of more than $100 million and will be hosted at the Cane Run
generating station jointly owned and operated by PPL subsidiaries
Kentucky Utilities and Louisville Gas and Electric Company. OCED
announced in February of this year that the DOE selected the
project for award negotiations.
"Today marks another step forward in our strategy to enable new
technologies that can help accelerate the transition to a clean
energy future and close the gap to economy-wide, net-zero carbon
emissions," said PPL President and Chief Executive Officer
Vincent Sorgi. "We understand that
delivering net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 will require faster
action and commercialization of new technology than our industry
has ever achieved, and it will require utilities leading the way on
innovation.
"We are proud to take the lead in evaluating and piloting carbon
capture technology on natural gas combined-cycle generation, and
we're grateful for the DOE's support. Ultimately, we believe
reliable, dispatchable natural gas units will be essential in the
years ahead to ensure there's sufficient supply to meet electricity
demand 24/7. Further, we believe natural gas can be a reliable
partner in accelerating the transition to renewables while
preserving reliability and affordability."
About the project
The system planned for Cane Run is designed to capture a portion
of the CO2 from the natural gas plant's flue gas using
an advanced heat-integrated CO₂ capture technology. It's expected
to capture more than 95% of the carbon emissions from up to 20
megawatts (MW) of the plant's 691 MW generating capacity, or up to
67,000 metric tons of CO₂ per year. That's equivalent to the annual
CO2 emissions of 16,000 gasoline-powered cars, according
to OCED.
The demonstration project is an important step in assessing the
future viability of utility-scale carbon capture technology on
natural gas units. Current plans include the captured CO₂ being
purified and beneficially reused in its entirety by a nearby
industrial customer.
In addition to the University of
Kentucky, collaborators on the project include the Electric
Power Research Institute (EPRI); Kentucky
State University; Visage Energy; and American Welding &
Gas. Vogt Power International Inc., a Babcock Power Inc.
subsidiary, and Siemens Energy, manufacturers of the Cane Run 7
Generating Station, are contributing technical support as part of
the project team on integrating the new CO₂ capture system. Koch
Modular Process Systems and others will support the design,
fabrication and construction of the carbon capture unit.
Part of PPL's continued focus on clean energy R&D
The latest research initiative at Cane Run is one of more than
175 research and development projects that PPL is currently
collaborating on with over 30 industry and academic partners.
Projects range from accelerating low-carbon energy technologies to
strengthening network resiliency and building the grid of the
future.
PPL subsidiaries LG&E and KU have partnered with the
University of Kentucky for nearly two
decades on various carbon capture research projects and were
founders of the university's carbon capture research program in
2006. Together with EPRI, the company and university deployed a
pilot-scale carbon capture facility in 2014 at the KU E.W. Brown
coal-fired generating station.
About PPL
PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL), headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, is a leading U.S.
energy company focused on providing electricity and natural gas
safely, reliably and affordably to more than 3.5 million customers
in the U.S. PPL's high-performing, award-winning utilities are
addressing energy challenges head-on by building smarter, more
resilient and more dynamic power grids and advancing sustainable
energy solutions. For more information, visit www.pplweb.com.
About the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations
The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Clean Energy
Demonstrations (OCED) was established to accelerate clean energy
technologies and fill a critical innovation gap on the path to
achieving our nation's climate goals of net zero emissions by 2050.
OCED's mission is to deliver clean energy demonstration projects at
scale in partnership with the private sector to accelerate
deployment, market adoption, and the equitable transition to a
decarbonized energy system. Visit energy.gov/oced to learn
more.
Note to Editors: Visit our media website at
www.pplnewsroom.com for additional news about PPL
Corporation.
Contact:
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For news media: Ryan
Hill, 610.774.4033
For financial analysts:
Andy Ludwig, 610.774.3389
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