Trailblazer Energy Center
Project Journal
AUGUST ENTRIES
Tenaska Tests Soil at Trailblazer Site
August 21, 2008
Nolan County residents may have noticed some recent activity around the Tenaska Trailblazer Energy Center. Several small drilling rigs have been on site over the past few weeks to take soil samples where the plant would be physically located. The work is part of a “preliminary geotechnical investigation”.
The drills removed shafts of soil about four inches in diameter and 10 to 25 feet long. Testing on the extracted soil samples will help determine the appropriate foundation design for the project.
The rigs also drilled holes in the soil for percolation tests. During percolation testing, water is sent through holes to understand how it saturates the soil and migrates into other areas.
These geotechnical investigations are important for a strong engineering plan and environmentally responsible electric generation.
[top of page]
Tenaska is Invested in Trailblazer Energy Center
August 13, 2008
Tenaska continues progress toward development of the proposed Tenaska Trailblazer Energy Center near Sweetwater, Texas. Though a final decision on whether to construct and operate the facility is not expected until late 2009, as of June 30, Tenaska had invested $14.8 million in activities associated with its development.
A number of milestones must be achieved before construction begins: enactment of federal carbon legislation; state incentives approved by the Texas Legislature made available; local incentives granted; and necessary permits obtained. If those goals are met, the Trailblazer plant could begin operation in 2014, producing electricity, capturing CO2 and transporting it via pipeline to the Permian Basin for use in enhanced oil recovery.
[top of page]
Tenaska Developers Study
Carbon Capture Technology in Japan
August 5, 2008
Members of the Tenaska Trailblazer Energy Center development team recently traveled to Japan where they observed one of the few operational coal-fueled power plants with carbon capture technology in the world.
Operations Group President and CEO Mike Lebens, Business Development President and CEO Dave Fiorelli, Executive Vice President Tom Hendricks and Manager, Development Engineering Vasu Pinapati visited Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation, to learn more about the company’s environmental control technologies, particularly in regard to carbon capture.
MHI’s carbon capture technology is being considered for the plant, which will be the first commercial-sized coal-fueled power plant designed to capture 85 to 90 percent of the carbon dioxide (CO2) it produces, rather than release it into the atmosphere.
The trip included a tour of MHI’s carbon capture demonstration plant installed at J-Power’s coal-fueled power station located on Matsushima Island. Team members also observed carbon capture processes at the Mitsubishi Chemical Company plant in Kurosaki and visited the MHI Research and Development Center in Hiroshima.
MHI specializes in the development of advanced amine-based technology. In that process, MHI's proprietary solvent, KS-1, absorbs the CO2 from the emissions stack and delivers it to another location at the plant where the solution is heated to release the carbon dioxide. The KS-1 solution is then recycled. In the case of the Trailblazer Energy Center, the CO2 would be dehydrated, compressed and transported via pipeline to oil fields.
[top of page]
More information about the Tenaska Trailblazer Energy Center and illustrations for press use may be obtained at www.tenaskatrailblazer.com.
|
