Secure Energy takes delivery of two Siemens gasifiers and submits an application for loan guarantee to the DOE that is likely a very compelling application.Secure Energy Inc. is developing a coal gasification plant near Decatur, Illinois. Secure Energy submitted an application to the DOE under the DOE solicitation for coal gasification projects with carbon capture and sequestration. Illinois Representatives Phil Hare, Aaron Schock, John Shimkus, and Senator Roland Burris sent a bipartisan letter to DOE Secretary Steven Chu in support of the project. Approval of the loan guarantee by the DOE will also permit Secure Energy to borrow the funds from the Federal Financing Bank. It’s a good bet that the loan guarantee application will receive a favorable evaluation. Why? Because Secure Energy has just received two Siemens gasifiers for the project and they are at the site waiting to be installed.

Secure Energy purchased the 28 acre site in Decatur, IL for the Secure Energy Gasification Plant from Catepillar. Catepillar had a coal fired boiler facility at it’s Decatur manufacturing facility that was never put in use and sold it to Secure Energy. Secure Energy plans to use some of the existing infrastructure for the coal gasification plant such as the coal conveyor system.

Secure Energy received an air permit for the project in 2007. In 2007, Secure Energy also selected Siemens gasification technology for the project. The Siemens scope of supply for the Decatur plant consists of process design and basic engineering design packages for the gasification island, two Siemens gasifiers and other key gasification island components, and a license to use the Siemens fuel gasification process.

Secure Energy purchased the Siemens gasifiers as long lead equipment items and the gasifiers were delivered recently in March 2009. According to a Siemens report, the gasifiers will have a thermal capacity of 500 megawatts (MWth) each and will convert 1.3 million tpd high-sulfur Illinois coal into pipeline quality natural gas (SNG) which will be supplied to the interstate natural gas pipeline network. The plant design capacity 20 billion cubic feet of synthetic natural gas per year.