In August 2004, AEP announced plans to construct an Integrated Gasification Combined
Cycle (IGCC) power plant and place it in commercial operation by 2010. It will be
the largest commercial-scale IGCC plant in the U.S. and the world.
IGCC is a clean coal technology that turns coal into
a gas, and then removes impurities from the coal gas before it is combusted. This
results in lower emissions of sulfur dioxide, particulates and mercury. It also
results in improved efficiency compared to conventional pulverized coal. Because
coal is America's most abundant energy source, the environmental
benefits of this technology are strategically important to AEP, as well
as the nation.
The IGCC plant, along with the environmental improvements AEP is making on its existing
coal-fired fleet, will keep AEP as a low-cost, low-emissions electricity supplier
in the future.
AEP will build one or more IGCC units, providing that
costs can be recovered through the regulatory process.
