Methane is a potent greenhouse gas and millions of cubic feet of it escape daily from active coal mines. Three projects selected by the DOE propose new ways to capture the gas and convert it to energy æ reducing an environmental problem while adding to the nation’s supplies of clean natural gas and electric power.

The projects include:

Fuel Cell Energy, Inc., Danbury, CT, to field test a fuel cell power plant that would produce 250 kW of electricity by capturing and using coal mine methane emissions;

Northwest Fuel Development, Inc., Lake Oswego, OR, to build a combination gas processing-power generation system to produce 500,000 cu ft per day of pipeline-quality gas and 1.2 MW of electricity; and

Appalachian-Pacific Coal Mine Methane Power Co., LLC, Arlington, VA, to work with West Virginia University Research Corp., Morgantown, WV, and Invitation Energy, Mannington, WV, to convert coal mine methane into liquefied natural gas (LNG) to fuel heavy trucks.

Each of the projects is scheduled to run for three years.

For more information, contact William F. Haslebacher of the NETL at 304-285-5435; whasle@netl.doe. gov (e-mail).

Publication date: 10/09/2000