Americans for Balanced Energy Choices (ABEC) today released a statement supporting the permitting of two Duke Energy coal-fueled power plants, the Cliffside Steam Station in North Carolina and the Edwardsport Station in Indiana. Both plants will incorporate advanced technologies to help reduce air emissions while providing critical electricity generation for both regions.

"The approval of both the Cliffside and Edwardsport plants represent a significant step forward in the development and deployment of advanced clean coal technologies," said Joe Lucas, executive director of ABEC. "Coal is the most reliable, abundant and affordable option for power generation in the country and these new plants demonstrate the ability of advanced clean coal technologies to meet sustained superior environmental performance while generating the power necessary to support a growing economy and population.

"Even more exciting, the Edwardsport plant could be one of the first demonstrations of carbon capture and storage technology in the country, cementing the coal-based utility industry's strong belief that carbon capture and storage can be accomplished in a timely manner, said Lucas. "Each new clean coal technology project helps propel the industry toward the shared goal of a near-zero emissions power plant.

The Cliffside plant will utilize supercritical pulverized coal technologies that burn coal more efficiently while the Edwardsport plant will be one of the first coal plants in the world to utilize integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) technology. IGCC plants convert coal into a synthetic gas which is processed to further reduce emissions of sulfur, mercury and particulate matter. Once the new units come online, Duke will retire older, less efficient coal-fueled units at both sites, which significantly will reduce the net air emissions and overall environmental impact and carbon dioxide intensity of Duke's generating fleet.

The permitting of both plants brings the number of permitted new coal-fueled projects in the United States to 15. There are 24 new coal-fueled plants under construction.