Release Date: October 4, 2007

Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of Energy has released for public comment the draft Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), Model Cooperative Agreement, and Model Payment Agreement for Round 3 of the Clean Coal Power Initiative (CCPI). CCPI invites private industries to partner with Government to demonstrate new clean coal technologies at commercial scale.

The draft FOA allows interested parties to voice concerns and seek answers to questions regarding the cost-shared partnership. The public comment period begins immediately and continues through November 9, 2007. In addition, a public meeting will be held on November 1, 2007, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel at the Pittsburgh International Airport in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Developed as a response to President Bush's commitment to clean coal technology, the CCPI is a ten-year $2 billion program initiated in 2002 to demonstrate advanced coal-based, power generation technology at the commercial scale. DOE seeks new and innovative technologies that are not available on the current market rather than new applications or minor improvements to existing technologies. In addition, potential projects must ensure that a minimum of 75 percent of the fuel energy input is from coal, and a minimum of 50 percent of the energy-equivalent output is from electricity.

The CCPI will conduct four solicitation rounds through 2010; eight projects are currently active from the previous two rounds. The projects are cost-shared, with the award recipient providing at least 50 percent of funds for the project. A Notice of Intent was posted in May of this year, which provided a brief summary of Round 3. The draft of the FOA is a lengthier document that details the goals and requirements of Round 3 and is to be used as a guide by the industry to create proposals.

CCPI Round 3 specifically focuses on technologies that capture and sequester carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions or put them to beneficial reuse. DOE has established the following goals for demonstration at a commercial scale in a commercial setting:

• Technologies that capture and sequester at least 50 percent of CO2 emissions from the proposed facility, or put them to beneficial reuse.
• Technologies that show significant progress toward 90 percent carbon capture.
• Technologies that show significant progress toward CO2 capture and sequestration with less than 10 percent increase in electricity costs.

DOE is also interested in structuring Round 3 to allow demonstration projects under CCPI to integrate with ongoing sequestration field tests, which might already be fully operational when new projects become available. DOE anticipates the award of multiple Cooperative Agreements resulting from this Announcement.

The release of the final FOA is expected at the end of November 2007. Applications will be due to DOE on approximately April 29, 2008, and selections will be announced in November 2008.

Coal is the Nation's most abundant energy resource, and 90 percent of all coal consumed supplies more than 50 percent of national electricity. By accelerating the availability of advanced coal technologies for commercial deployment, CCPI will enable the United States to benefit from clean, reliable, and affordable electricity and power. Participation in CCPI offers high risk, yet the risk is worthwhile because a successful demonstration will allow the individual participant to replicate the technology in the commercial market.