The Mesaba Energy Project Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Mesaba Energy Project - Case Study caseThe site should accommodate multiple generating units, covering more than 1,000 acres to provide buffer zone in the midst of the plant facilities and nearby communities. Preferred view location is West Range Plant Site, Greenfield which is designated for auxiliary dig purposes (Area Definitions). The main objective for this site is due to Iron range that is only about 70 ccs northwest of Duluth near Taconite and Bovey. Other than this, natural go down on pipelines, high voltage transmission line corridors and viable rail service are also the deciding factors. An alternate site is also under consideration, primed(p) in the east range plant site which is closer to Hoyt Lake iron range, about 50 mile north of Duluth and has access to water as well as feed-stock transportation option (Minnesota Hydrology adopt, 1992). An estimated total project costs approximately $1.97 Billion, Department of Energy share is $36 Million. It is expected to polish off construction work by 2011 and after that within one year to start its operation. The main attributes to this project are, 2005 Energy Policy Act that provides loan guarantees, legislatively mandated PPA with Northern States Power (A3/BBB-), Regulatory incentives and exemption from credentials of need, Public support and large demand in market, and fuel flexibility or lowest-cost fuel (Mesaba).MEP From ember to TechnologyProject is supposed to be designed with a thought as fuel businesslike where primary material is burn a small statistic outlines the fuel compositions which can be use interchangeably 100% ember including Powder River Basin sub-bituminous and Illinois No. 6 bituminous coals, up to 11 ratio of coal and petroleum coke blend and petroleum coke. A group of MIT studied on role of coal to lessen its effect on global climate change. They came up with a consequent that carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology can reduce carbon dioxide procession to a evidential amount without hampering its energy output requirement. According to Dr. Deutch As the worlds leading energy user and greenhouse gas emitter, the U.S. must take the lead in showing the world CCS can work. Demonstration of technical, economic, and institutional features of CCS at commercial scale coal combustion and conversion plants will give policymakers and the public confidence that a practical carbon mitigation control option exists, will reduce cost of CCS should carbon emission controls be adopted, and will maintain the low-cost coal option in an environmentally acceptable manner. coal is a low cost and its usage is increasing day by day. So using coal directly without CCS will affect the climate directly leading to a global change. CCS enables coal to stand its energy criteria in future and in parallel saving the atmosphere from CO2 emissions as coal contains a high carbon percentage (Future of Coal, 2007). Fuel gasification is done first which is a process of converting coal, petroleum coke etc into gaseous state from solid one. It is similar to natural gas and used for electric power generation. The gasification process that MEP will use is ConocoPhillips E-Gas technology. Raw materials are first crushed and slurry is make which is pumped