Coal Mine Methane - Coal Bed Methane - Coal Seam Methane - Power Generation

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The Envirogen Group...
Envirogen’s power stations generate electricity in an
environmentally responsible manner by utilising waste coal mine methane,
as an alternative to traditional fossil fuel powered generation.
Coal Mine Methane (CMM), also known
as Coal Bed Methane (CBM) and Coal Seam Methane
(CSM) is embedded in coal seams and must be extracted prior to mining
the coal for safety reasons. This gas has traditionally been flared or
released directly into the atmosphere. Releasing the methane into the
atmosphere however, is no longer a viable option in such a carbon
constrained environment especially given that methane is a particularly
potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential of 21 times that
of carbon dioxide.
Envirogen provides a solution for coal mines by
utilising the waste methane in power generation. Envirogen’s four power
stations are located on the mine site and extract the gas to use in
power generators. The power generation process converts the methane into
carbon dioxide and water, thus abating significant greenhouse gas
emissions. The process also has the benefit of producing electricity
from a resource that would otherwise be wasted.
The Envirogen power stations are designed to be fully
operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with minimal staffing,
ensuring maximum utilisation of the waste mine gas at the least cost.
All stations are of a modular design and so require minimal plant
upgrades to support capacity expansion to meet the mine’s generally
increasing production of waste mine gas. Envirogen’s stations are state
of the art, with the most recent station coming into service in late
2007. The majority of electricity produced by the power stations is used
by the mine itself which reduces transmission losses associated with the
supply of electricity to the mine from other sources. As a consequence,
the coal mine owners are important partners for Envirogen.
Due to its ‘green’ credentials, Envirogen has
successfully gained funding from the Australian Greenhouse Office
through its Greenhouse Gas Abatement Program to partially fund the
construction of its existing power stations.
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