RECENT POSTSElectric co-ops partner with universities to research carbon capture technology for power plants
Contact : Nancy Southworth 417.885.9246
JEFFERSON CITY, MO. – Missouri’s electric cooperatives and two of the state’s top universities are leading the way to find solutions that may help address global climate change concerns facing the nation.
Associated Electric Cooperative and Central Electric Power Cooperative are sponsoring research to be conducted by Lincoln University of Missouri and the Missouri University of Science and Technology that will use flue gas from power plants to grow algae to reduce carbon dioxide gas emissions. The carbon capture project could produce an effective approach to reduce CO2 emissions and mitigate climate change concerns.
The cooperatives and the universities will hold a news conference Friday, Sept. 5, at 1 p.m. at the Missouri Department of Natural Resources Conference Center in Jefferson City to announce the project and sign the research agreement. U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics Dr. Gale Buchanan will join the sponsors and university officials speaking at the signing ceremony.
The research is being funded by the cooperatives and will be performed in conjunction with two algae-related research projects currently being conducted by both universities and funded by USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service and the Missouri Life Sciences Research Board.
Principal researchers are Dr. Keesoo Lee, associate professor of biology, Lincoln University; and Dr. Paul Nam, assistant professor of chemistry, Missouri University of Science and Technology.
Using photosynthesis, algae in four large pools of water will use energy from sunlight to feed on CO2 from the power plant’s flue gas, thus capturing the CO2. An additional benefit is that the oil found in algae can be processed into a biodiesel.
The research project will be based at Central Electric’s Chamois Power Plant, located east of Jefferson City on the Missouri River, where staff has been producing green power using biomass materials for more than five years. Central Electric’s staff at Chamois Power Plant has researched using a variety of biomass materials, including corn cobs, walnut shells and old railroad ties, to produce green power for cooperatives. Plant staff is currently experimenting with burning turkey processing sludge with coal to produce electricity.
In addition to green biomass power, Associated Electric Cooperative’s diverse resources include renewable hydropower and wind power, energy efficiency, coal and gas-based resources. AECI partnered in the state’s first utility-scale wind farms located in northwest Missouri. AECI’s commitment to buy all the power from three wind farms in northwest Missouri for 20 years and the co-ops’ vast transmission system made the wind farms possible.
Central Electric Power Cooperative, based in Jefferson City, is a generation and transmission cooperative serving eight local distribution cooperatives in central Missouri.
Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. is owned by and provides wholesale power to six regional (included Central Electric Power Cooperative) and 51 local electric cooperative systems in Missouri, southeast Iowa and northeast Oklahoma that serve more than 850,000 customers. AECI’s mission is to provide an economical and reliable power supply and support services to its members, including the new “Take Control & Save” energy efficiency program, www.TakeControlAndSave.coop. AECI is a Touchstone Energy Cooperative. An Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V
Missouri University of Science and Technology, founded in 1870 in Rolla as the University of Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy, is one of the four campuses in the University of Missouri System. Known for its engineering programs, Missouri S&T enrolls more than 6,000 students and also offers degrees in the sciences, liberal arts, humanities and business. Throughout its history, Missouri S&T has prepared bright, hard-working students to meet society’s challenges and today is committed to addressing some of the nation’s most pressing energy and environmental issues.
Lincoln University was founded in 1866 by the men of the 62nd and 65th United States Colored Infantries and their white officers for the special benefit of freed African Americans. Today, Lincoln University’s role in the education of Missourians and others and its service to stakeholders throughout the state, the nation and across the globe is well recognized. Lincoln University continues to serve the needs of its diverse student body through a tradition of offering innovative programs that makes the college experience special.
Source: http://www.aeci.org/NR20080904.aspx