Abstract:
Nelson F. Rekos will introduce some background information and the current status of the Future Gen 2.0 project that is currently under development by the National Energy Technology Laboratory of the US Department of Energy (DOE). This plant, which will be located in the central United States state of Illinois near Chicago,  will be a large oxy-combustion plant (200 MWe) burning pulverized coal with an integrated CCS capability. The CO2 will be captured, compressed and purified and then piped 50 km to a deep saline geological storage facility. The DOE is funding this project through several large industrial partners that will provide the expertise.  This project will provide significant real world experience with and verification of oxy-combustion facilities for future large scale commercial usage. The project is expected to be online in 2016.
Biography:
Nelson has 40 years of experience in the development of energy and coal-based technologies.  He is currently the DOE project manager for the FutureGen 2.0 project, working with Ameren Energy Resources Company.  DOE is contributing nearly $1 billion to develop a first-of-a-kind 200-MWe oxy-combustion power plant and sequester the carbon dioxide (CO2) captured from the plant into the Mount Simon saline reservoir in Illinois.
In the late 1970s, Nelson worked in private industry on advanced combustion system for gas turbines and coal fueled pressurized fluid bed technologies.  He joined the Department of Energy in the early 1980s and managed projects with major U.S. coal companies involving coal cleaning and coal-slurry development.  In the 1990s, he managed larger demonstration projects, including circulating fluidized bed (CFB) and integrated gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) demonstration under the Clean Coal Technology Program.  Notably, Nelson was DOE’s project manager for Tampa Electric’s IGCC project at the Polk Power Plant (first-of-its-kind).
In the international arena, Nelson has been involved with technology exchange with India, China, and Russia. In these roles, he coordinated the transfer of coal-based technologies for coal cleaning, coal ash utilization, acid mine remediation, boiler maintenance, and an IGCC feasibility project for India under a program through the State Department’s U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).  He also served as NETL’s representative for the Atlantic Council attending joint India-China discussions on electricity availability issues in both countries.
Other significant assignments have included chairing major DOE solicitations, among which were the Industrial Carbon Capture and Sequestration, the DOE/NETL Site Support Services Recompete, and the Clean Coal Powerplant Initiative.  Outside the DOE Office of Fossil Energy, Nelson continues to serve as the DOE coordinator with the U.S. Treasury on the Energy Policy Tax Credit and also the DOE Loan Guarantee Program.