FE’s Office of Clean Coal is organized into eight technology areas, one of which is Advanced Power Systems (APS). APS is subdivided into two closely related programs: Advanced Turbines, and Coal Gasification. Beginning with the APS goals and working down through the organization, the high level goals lead to increasingly specific goals and targets that support power system and turbine technology development objectives, as described below.

APS Goals and Targets
The APS goals stated below reflect DOE’s effort to introduce a “new breed” of power plant – one that is highly efficient, capable of producing multiple products, and virtually pollution-free (near-zero emissions). APS programs capitalize on progress achieved in other Clean Coal program areas, including carbon sequestration and fuel cells, and also strongly support technology requirements of the FutureGen Program.

• By 2010, complete R&D for advanced gasification combined-cycle technology that can produce electricity from coal at 45–50 percent efficiency (HHV).
• By 2012, complete R&D to integrate this technology with CO₂ separation, capture, and sequestration into a near-zero emission configuration(s) that can provide electricity with less than a 10 percent increase in cost over conventional plants.

The APS target for the Advanced Turbines Program is:

• By 2010, test advanced syngas-fueled turbine combustors that will form the core of gasifier/turbine systems that contribute 2–3 percentage points to overall efficiency improvements (based on a Frame-FB Turbine).

Advanced Turbines Program Targets
Advanced turbines are being developed to operate on coal-derived fuels (syngas) and hydrogen. To achieve the APS goals, the Advanced Turbines Program has established the following targets:

• By 2010, operating on syngas: increase combined-cycle (CC) power block efficiency by 2–3 percentage points over baseline; reduce NOx emissions to 2 ppm in the turbine exhaust at 15 percent oxygen when fueled with syngas; and reduce capital costs of CC power island by 20–30 percent when compared to today’s turbines in existing integrated gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) plants.
• By 2012, operating on hydrogen: maintain 2010 efficiency gains (2–3 percentage points for CC power block over baseline) when fueled with hydrogen; reduce NOx emissions to near-zero when fueled with hydrogen; maintain 2010 capital cost reductions (20–30 percent from baseline) when fueled with hydrogen; and reduce the cost impact of CO₂ compression by reducing the auxiliary power requirement by 30–40 percent compared to current projections.