CLEANER ENERGY SOLUTIONS

Benefits Of UCG

Linc Energy is committed to developing its activities in an environmentally responsible manner and recognises the importance of environmental issues in UCG technology.

Compared with traditional coal mining, UCG eliminates the need for large scale soil and overburden removal and coal wash plants. This eliminates issues such as acid mine drainage, spoil dumps, coal fines storage dams, mining rehabilitation, fly ash disposal and methane emissions, when compared with coal seams that are traditionally mined. Once a UCG operation is finished, the soil profile remains intact and the land can be used again afterwards. This reduces the land use conflicts that often arise with traditional coal mining.

Compared with conventional coal to liquids or surface gasification for power, UCG eliminates the need for a surface gasification plant. Such plants are capital and energy intensive. Compared with conventional gas or coal seam gas production, UCG creates significantly more energy for the same land area, meaning UCG takes up a smaller space.

Other Benefits

When used for power generation, UCG syngas results in a 25 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared with coal-fired power stations¹.

Exhausted UCG cavities are capable of absorbing significant quantities of carbon dioxide – potentially up to 400 times more carbon than traditional carbon capture and storage options. As such Linc Energy signed an exclusive Memorandum of Understanding with Helmholtz Centre Potsdam GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, based in Potsdam, Germany, to research and work on combined UCG and carbon capture and storage options exclusively for Linc Energy.

The research period is for three years and demonstrates Linc Energy intentions to create a carbon neutral operating environment.

UCG In Queensland

Linc Energy operates its UCG facility in a demonstration phase in Queensland and continues to work within the parameters set by the Queensland Government appointed Independent Scientific Panel on the development of a government policy for the application of UCG in Queensland. The role of the Independent Scientific Panel is to review the technical and environmental credentials of UCG and make a recommendation to the government for a policy decision in 2012.

Click here for more information.

1. (BHP Billiton, 2002. Case Study B20: Electricity Production Using Underground Coal Gasification (UCG). Newcastle, Australia).