Duke Energy received the air permit for the Edwardsport Coal Gasification Power Plant. The plant is a 630 Megawatt power plant that will be constructed at the Edwardsport Station in southwest Indiana. The facility will be a coal gasification plant and will be one of the cleanest coal powered plants in the United States, because of it will use gasification technology.

The gasification technology will convert the coal to synthetic gas (syngas). The syngas will be further processed using proven technology to remove the sulfur, mercury and particulates. After ‘cleaning’, the syngas will be sent to a traditional power plant to power two combustion turbines.

The new plant is scheduled to be complete in 2012. It will replace four older, less efficient generating units at the site. This is a win-win for Indiana. The site will employ 800 – 900 construction workers for approximately 3 years. After start-up, the region will have more electricity, lower emissions and cleaner air. Duke must construct new electric generation facilities and this is a clean technology.