August 8, 2008

Alter NRG plans coal-to-liquid fuel plant near Edmonton

RICHARD GILBERT

staff writer

An Alberta-based company is planning to make fuel from coal.

Alter NRG Corp. plans to develop coal reserves in the Fox Creek area of Alberta by building Canada’s first plant to convert coal into liquid fuel.

The company holds the lease to four Crown coal fields located north of Fox Creek township, between Edmonton and Grande Prairie. A public disclosure document shows that the company proposes to mine a reserve of about 301 million tonnes of coal using established surface mining technology, and then through gasification and other processes, to produce diesel fuel and other liquids.

The $4.5 billion plant would be the first facility in Canada to combine the use of Coal to Liquids (CTL) technology with carbon dioxide (CO2)capture.

“Alter NRG is concerned about reducing the energy industry’s carbon footprint. As the first coal to liquids project in Canada, the project will be a significant, long-term contributor to Alberta’s economy as well as set a precedent for clean energy solutions,” said Mark Montemurro, president and CEO of Alter NRG.

One of the main reasons Alter NRG decided to develop their Fox Creek coal field was that it is close to infrastructure and mature oil fields that could benefit from enhanced oil recovery (EOR) by the injection of CO2.

Construction of the CTL plant is set to begin soon after necessary approvals.

Gasification allows for the removal of harmful contaminants from the coal, which helps produce cleaner energy. The gasifier will convert solid coal feedstock into synthesis gas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen commonly referred to as syngas.

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