Australia-based Perdaman Chemicals and Fertilizers announced October 13 that it signed an offtake agreement with Incitec Pivot Limited (IPL) for the entire output of granular urea fertilizer from its proposed A$3.5 billion (US$3.47 billion) “Collie” coal-gasification plant.

Updated Gasification hot spots map (October 2010)

Coal India Limited (CIL) has formally formed a joint venture (JV) with Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) and Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers (RCF) for the development of a coal gasification project at the Talchar unit in Orissa, India, Hindustan Times reported August 15.

A variety of clean coal technologies are expected to figure prominently in China’s new energy plans to reduce CO2 emissions, Reuters reported August 18. China is the top producer and consumer of coal. Coal has helped fuelled the country’s rapid growth, but has also turned it into the world’s biggest CO2 emitter. Though China is keen to develop alternative sources of energy, including nuclear, solar, wind and natural gas, coal will remain the dominant source of fuel for the nation’s energy needs. The government is looking to cap coal production output at 3.8 billion tons by 2015, 25 percent more than in 2009.

Global coal demand is set to continue to rise over the next two decades, despite global moves to switch to “greener” and renewable energies, UPI reported August 24, citing research in a recent report from Dublin’s Research and Markets. The report coincides with a U.S. study that recently predicted that worldwide coal production could peak in 2011. Coal remains the principal fuel for electricity production. World coal consumption grew from 6.7 billion tons per year in 2006 to an estimated 10 billion tons this year. China and the U.S. both utilize coal for the majority of electricity production (90 percent in the U.S., 70 percent in China). This represents some 14 percent of total electricity production worldwide. According to the report, 40 percent of world electricity production comes from coal. Research and Markets projects coal consumption to grow 2.5 percent every year over the next 20 years. The report cites the importance of clean coal technologies such as underground coal gasification, advanced pollution control, carbon capture and sequestration, CO2 storage and coal washing as key factors in making coal “greener”.

Perdaman Chemicals and Fertilisers (Perdaman) announced September 3 that it has received Federal environmental approval for its project from Australia’s Federal Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, in accordance with the requirements of the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999.

Representatives of the High Plains Gasification-Advanced Technology Center (HPG-ATC) provided a project update Sept. 21 to the Joint Minerals, Business and Economic Development Interim Committee of the Wyoming State Legislature in Jackson.

China is expected to have the largest coal conversion industry by 2020, according to a report by the Xinhua News Service.

Fortune, 9 Aug 2010 The politics of clean coal keep preventing the United States government from actually finishing a clean coal project. Last week, the Department of Energy added a new twist to the on-again-off-again clean coal project FutureGen, ...

Updated Gasification Hot Spots Map(September, 2010)