LG&E and KU partner with University of Kentucky on carbon capture research
On Friday, Louisville Gas and Electric Company (LG&E), and Kentucky Utilities Company (KU), announced they were partnering with the University of Kentucky and EPRI to study a first-of-its-kind carbon capture technology.
The companies said the research at a natural gas combined-cycle power plant in Kentucky, Cane Run Generating Station in Louisville, entails a front-end engineering design (FEED) study that will evaluate the feasibility and approximate cost to pilot and deploy a University of Kentucky-developed carbon-capture technology that could capture at least 95 percent of the carbon dioxide from gases exiting the power generating station’s stacks. The $5.8 million project is funded through a U.S. Department of Energy grant from 2022. It is one of just two natural gas combined cycle facilities in the country awarded the DOE research funding.
“As part of our commitment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, decarbonization technology is a key focus area for our utilities and others across the energy industry with similar goals,” said LG&E and KU President John R. Crockett. “We’ve been involved in leading carbon capture research for nearly 20 years and believe the experience we bring, along with our partners’ innovation, will play a critical role in advancing this technology.”
Officials said the research would lay the foundation for a full-scale, 10- to 20-megawatt carbon capture sequestration pilot unit at the generation station. If the unit is deployed as proposed by the group’s FEED study, officials said, it would be the first of its kind.
“This research will ultimately enable us to complete all of the assessments needed, scale up our existing carbon capture technology, and move to a fully-functioning, utility-scale operation that would be able to sell the carbon captured to one or more local businesses for their needs, or permanently store it underground,” said Kunlei Liu, associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at UK.
The study will run through mid-2024.
