Simpler and Cheaper Clean Coal Technology

Gasification, in which coal is converted to a gaseous fuel, is the front-runner as next-generation technology for cleaner coal-fired power plants. Already, a number of utilities, including American Electric Power in the United States and RWE in Germany, are engineering large-scale gasification plants that would capture their carbon dioxide. But one major utility, Stockholm-based Vattenfall AB, is bucking the gasification trend. Last month, it finalized plans for a 40 million euro ($50 million) test of a simpler and potentially cheaper technology called oxyfuels.