FutureGen picks designer for clean coal plant

The FutureGen Industrial Alliance has chosen Washington Group International (NYSE: WNG), based in Idaho, to provide architectural, design, and engineering support services for the FutureGen initiative.

FutureGen is a public-private partnership to develop and build a first-of-its-kind, coal-fueled near-zero emissions electric power plant.

The prototype project, estimated to cost more than $1 billion, is to be the world's first integrated carbon sequestration and hydrogen gas production research power plant.

The approximate 275-megawatt Integrated (coal) Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power plant will use new approaches to generate electricity while capturing and permanently storing carbon dioxide deep underground. The project will convert a variety of coal types to hydrogen gas for power generation and other potential uses.

The project includes development of a large-scale engineering laboratory and research platform for evaluating and testing new technologies for the conversion of coal to fuel gases, for the capture of carbon dioxide and for the clean production of power.

As the engineering and construction management provider, Washington Group will assist in the evaluation and selection of technologies for coal gasification and for gas and power generation, as well as integrate the selected technologies and packages for the processes across the facility.

"The FutureGen project is complex, incorporates a significant amount of first-of-a-kind technology, and is both cost- and schedule-sensitive," said Jerry J. Oliver, the FutureGen Industrial Alliance's senior vice president for project development.

The initial technology selection, design, and engineering work is scheduled for completion in March 2008.

The FutureGen Industrial Alliance is a non-profit industrial consortium representing the coal and power industries that is partnering with the U.S. Department of Energy to design and build the prototype facility.

Washington Group has more than $3 billion in annual revenue, and approximately 25,000 employees in power, environmental management, defense, oil and gas processing, mining, industrial facilities, transportation, and water resources.

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