China is ready to join FutureGen, a US initiative to build a
giant emission-free power plant.
Shang Yong, vice-minister of science and technology, said the
government will soon begin negotiations with the US about rights
and obligations of participation in the Government Steering
Committee.
The plan was announced yesterday at the ongoing 12th US-China
Joint Commission Meeting on Scientific and Technological
Cooperation.
John Marburger, science adviser to the US president and head of
the US delegation, said he was "glad" that China, the world's
largest coal producer and consumer, was showing an interest in the
program.
"China must take advantage of high-tech energy projects to meet
increasing domestic energy needs," Marburger said in an
interview.
Initiated three years ago, FutureGen is a 10-year effort that
plans to collect about US$950 million in international funds to
build a zero-emission, coal-fired electric and hydrogen production
plant.
It aims to integrate advanced technologies in coal gasification,
extracting hydrogen from coal, power generation, carbon dioxide
containment, and geologic storage.
Under the scheme, each signatory needs to contribute US$10
million to the program. At the same time, participants would
benefit from the development of any new technologies.
Lee Hwa Gebert, a senior official with the US Department of
Energy, said the draft of general agreement for FutureGen partners
is still being reviewed by the US State Department.
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"After it is passed, which may take several months, the two
countries can actually sit down and have a further talk," she
said.
India and South Korea were the first two to sign up. Interesting
enough, China Huaneng Group, the country's leading power
corporation, was a step ahead of the government as it joined the
program last year as a company member.
"FutureGen looks like a far distant solution for the public, but
it is a roadmap for clean coal technology," Xu Jing, deputy
director with the high-tech division of the Ministry of Science and
Technology, told China Daily.
He said the program is the ultimate goal for comprehensive
energy use, since the plant will produce both electricity and
hydrogen out of coal.
"Before realizing the goal, we need to improve current coal
gasification technologies," Xu said.
The ministry plans to build several pilot power plants for the
integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) process across the
country within the next five years. IGCC is emerging as one of the
most promising technologies for producing low-emission power
generation by utilizing low-quality solid and liquid fuels.
There are five similar pilot power stations in the US and
several in Europe, Xu added.
"We will encourage companies to lead the plan and in return,
they will gain some subsidies.
"These IGCC plants are preparations for an upgrade to more
advanced plants suggested in FutureGen," Xu said.
The biennial Sino-US joint meeting, which opened yesterday, aims
to help both countries develop new science and technology
cooperation areas.
In addition to clean energy technologies, both sides also agreed
on further collaboration in climate change, water resource
management, earth observation and nanotechnologies.
(China Daily October 19, 2006)