The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is investing $28 million toward research and development projects to advance cleaner power generation from fossil fuels.
The agency announced in a Aug. 24 news release that it had chosen 14 projects that will advance energy systems to enable cost-competitive power generation with nearly no emissions.
The $28 million will be bolstered by a further $8.4 million from recipient cost sharing, according to the release.
The press release noted that coal, oil and natural gas provide around 80% of energy in the U.S., and that the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts this will only drop to around 77% by 2040.
“The selected projects will advance technologies that increase the performance, efficiency, and availability of existing and new fossil fuel–based power generation; support national goals for the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions; and help facilitate the safe and sustainable use of the nation’s abundant fossil energy resources,” the release said.
Three of the projects involve preliminary designs of advanced combustion system power plants. They will be focused on scaling up “coal-based advanced combustion power generation technologies capable of 90% CO2 capture with substantially improved cost and performance.”
The projects will be managed by the National Energy Technology Laboratory, which is run by the Office of Fossil Energy.
