AEP will build one or more IGCC units of 600 megawatts each in the company's eastern
service area. IGCC is a good match for AEP, because the technology works well with
high-Btu coals such as the bituminous Appalachian coals readily available in AEP's
eastern area.
AEP evaluated potential plant sites on a set of 20 to 30 criteria. While the company
has not yet made its final site selection, it has
asked PJM, an independent transmission provider, to evaluate transmission
interconnection feasibility for three potential sites on the Ohio River:
- Mason County, W.Va., adjacent to AEP's Mountaineer Plant;
- Meigs County, Ohio, in the Great Bend area; and
- Lewis County, Ky., in the Carrs area near Vanceburg.
In September 2005,
the project took another major step forward when AEP signed an agreement
with GE Energy and Bechtel Corporation to begin the front-end engineering design
process for an IGCC plant in the 600-megawatt range. This will be the first such
engineering and design agreement undertaken for an IGCC plant of this scale.
In April 2006,
the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio approved AEP Ohio's request to recover
pre-construction costs from its Ohio customers for a proposed IGCC facility at the
Great Bend site. AEP Ohio will provide more definitive information, including more
precise costs, when available to seek approval to recover the costs of building
and operating the plant.
