New York drops plans for clean coal plant

Princeton, N.J.-based NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG) said the government of New York has pulled out of plans for a clean coal power plant in the state, citing the rising costs of the facility.

The New York Power Authority informed NRG that it would allow their strategic alliance, formed in January 2007, to expire on July 22, effectively ending the clean coal project.

"Of course, we are disappointed in the state's action today, but we recognize that the necessary funding was not there," said David Crane, president and CEO of NRG. "The Huntley IGCC project was, in many ways, ahead of its time."

The move in New York follows the news at the beginning of this year that the U.S. Department of Energy dumped the $1.8 billion FutureGen clean coal project after costs spiraled upward (see FutureGen goes FutureBust).

The DOE has since released an official funding opportunity announcement to invest in multiple commercial-scale carbon capture and storage projects as part of a restructured FutureGen program (see U.S. DOE puts out the call for new CCS projects).

The NRG project was for a 680 megawatt integrated gasification combined cycle plant at its Huntley facility in Tonawanda, N.Y. It was expected to cost approximately $1.5 billion and scheduled to go into commercial operation in 2013.

NRG said the integrated gasification combined cycle, or IGCC, plant would have had the ability to capture up to 65 percent of the carbon dioxide produced.