There are occasions where it is prudent for us to invest in research and test the applicability of new technologies. One of our largest technology investments was the 20-MW validation- scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) system at the Mountaineer Plant in West Virginia. The project, which was the world’s first integrated CCS project at a coal-fired power plant, proved that the technology worked, as it captured more than 51,000 metric tons of CO₂ between September 2009 and May 2011 and permanently stored more than 37,000 metric tons underground. The project was successfully completed and removed from service in May 2011.

In January 2010, we started engineering work on a second project that would have operated at commercial scale of 235 MW. AEP was awarded a federal grant for 50 percent of the project cost up to a maximum of $334 million from the Department of Energy’s Clean Coal Power Initiative program. When the original grant application was submitted, we believed it was important to advance the science of CCS due to pending action regarding climate change legislation and/or regulations concerning GHG emissions at our coal-fired power plants.

Various bills in Congress were introduced to limit emissions but also provide funding for early CCS projects. We also believed that regulatory support to recover costs incurred beyond the DOE grant was probable. While we still believe advancement of CCS is critical for the sustainability of coal-fired generation and to address carbon dioxide emissions from natural gas, the regulatory and legislative support for cost recovery simply does not exist. We attempted to secure other partners to help fund the project, but were largely unsuccessful.

Based on the lack of financial support, we announced in July 2011 that we would not continue with the commercial-scale project. It will remain on hold until the cost recovery issues are resolved. We did complete the engineering design for the CCS facility, including extensive geologic work for underground storage and a detailed cost estimate. While the project’s closure is unfortunate, we are confident that the work we completed will provide substantial benefits for this and other CCS projects.

The carbon capture and storage project at AEP’s Mountaineer Plant captured more than 51,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide.