PPL finalizes award for up to $72 million in federal funding from U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations

ALLENTOWN, Pa., Sept. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) announced today it has executed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) for an award up to $72 million to help fund a groundbreaking carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture research and development project at the company's natural gas combined-cycle generation facility in Louisville, Kentucky. OCED awarded PPL with the first tranche of funding – $4.9 million – to begin Phase 1 activities.

The carbon capture project – developed in partnership with the University of Kentucky and others – represents a total investment of more than $100 million and will be hosted at the Cane Run generating station jointly owned and operated by PPL subsidiaries Kentucky Utilities and Louisville Gas and Electric Company. OCED announced in February of this year that the DOE selected the project for award negotiations.

"Today marks another step forward in our strategy to enable new technologies that can help accelerate the transition to a clean energy future and close the gap to economy-wide, net-zero carbon emissions," said PPL President and Chief Executive Officer Vincent Sorgi. "We understand that delivering net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 will require faster action and commercialization of new technology than our industry has ever achieved, and it will require utilities leading the way on innovation.

"We are proud to take the lead in evaluating and piloting carbon capture technology on natural gas combined-cycle generation, and we're grateful for the DOE's support. Ultimately, we believe reliable, dispatchable natural gas units will be essential in the years ahead to ensure there's sufficient supply to meet electricity demand 24/7. Further, we believe natural gas can be a reliable partner in accelerating the transition to renewables while preserving reliability and affordability."

About the project

The system planned for Cane Run is designed to capture a portion of the CO₂ from the natural gas plant's flue gas using an advanced heat-integrated CO₂ capture technology. It's expected to capture more than 95% of the carbon emissions from up to 20 megawatts (MW) of the plant's 691 MW generating capacity, or up to 67,000 metric tons of CO₂ per year. That's equivalent to the annual CO₂ emissions of 16,000 gasoline-powered cars, according to OCED.

The demonstration project is an important step in assessing the future viability of utility-scale carbon capture technology on natural gas units. Current plans include the captured CO₂ being purified and beneficially reused in its entirety by a nearby industrial customer.

In addition to the University of Kentucky, collaborators on the project include the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI); Kentucky State University; Visage Energy; and American Welding & Gas. Vogt Power International Inc., a Babcock Power Inc. subsidiary, and Siemens Energy, manufacturers of the Cane Run 7 Generating Station, are contributing technical support as part of the project team on integrating the new CO₂ capture system. Koch Modular Process Systems and others will support the design, fabrication and construction of the carbon capture unit.

Part of PPL's continued focus on clean energy R&D

The latest research initiative at Cane Run is one of more than 175 research and development projects that PPL is currently collaborating on with over 30 industry and academic partners. Projects range from accelerating low-carbon energy technologies to strengthening network resiliency and building the grid of the future.

PPL subsidiaries LG&E and KU have partnered with the University of Kentucky for nearly two decades on various carbon capture research projects and were founders of the university's carbon capture research program in 2006. Together with EPRI, the company and university deployed a pilot-scale carbon capture facility in 2014 at the KU E.W. Brown coal-fired generating station.

About PPL

PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL), headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, is a leading U.S. energy company focused on providing electricity and natural gas safely, reliably and affordably to more than 3.5 million customers in the U.S. PPL's high-performing, award-winning utilities are addressing energy challenges head-on by building smarter, more resilient and more dynamic power grids and advancing sustainable energy solutions. For more information, visit www.pplweb.com.

About the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations

The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) was established to accelerate clean energy technologies and fill a critical innovation gap on the path to achieving our nation's climate goals of net zero emissions by 2050. OCED's mission is to deliver clean energy demonstration projects at scale in partnership with the private sector to accelerate deployment, market adoption, and the equitable transition to a decarbonized energy system. Visit energy.gov/oced to learn more.

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