Officials from the University of Illinois, the City of Springfield, the State of Illinois, and the U.S. Department of Energy (U.S. DOE)gathered on Dec. 8, 2022, for a groundbreaking ceremony for a 10-megawatt carbon capture project at City, Water, Light, and Power’s (CWLP) Dallman Unit 4 in Springfield, Ill.
“This is an essential step toward implementing innovative CO2 reduction strategies, reducing carbon emissions and greenhouse gases at an industrial scale,” said Kevin OBrien, director of the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) and the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) at the Prairie Research Institute (PRI).
The ceremony kicked off Phase III Build and Construction for the 10-megawatt (MWe) Linde-BASF advanced post-combustion CO2 capture system to process the Dallman Unit 4 flue gas and is recognized as one of the world’s largest carbon capture pilots.
“The CWLP project represents an exciting milestone in our efforts to advance and deploy carbon capture, and to bring real economic benefits to communities and entire regions as we move to a clean energy economy,” said Lynn Brickett, Director, Point Source Carbon Capture Division in the DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management. “I thank all of our partners for their work to move this project forward.”
DOE has allocated $47 million for this final phase to complete the project. The State of Illinois has committed an additional $20 million, bringing the total cost to $67 million.
“Our students deserve and need a future that is worthy of them,” said Timothy Killeen, president of the University of Illinois System, “and this project is an important component of that, which is very exciting because this project is not only successful but scalable.”
DOE cited the successful construction and operation of the Dallman Unit 4 test plant as a means to demonstrate economic carbon-capture technology and help enable the commercialization of the technology.
“We are fortunate that the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois and the Department of Energy chose our city for this monumental project,” said Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder. “This pilot is not only a value to our regional economic impact and job creation, but the impact it will have globally - as the energy industry and manufacturing sectors are all working to create a better balanced, low carbon future.”
PRI projects the construction and operation of the Dallman Unit 4 carbon capture facility will have a regional economic impact for construction and jobs of $47.1 million and will generate tax revenue of $5.6 million.
“Demonstrating this technology couldn’t be more timely, as this project is what the U.S. and other countries need to keep economies moving by adapting existing generation sources to support a resilient and reliable energy grid,” said CWLP Chief Utility Engineer Doug Brown. “We are pleased to host this project at our Unit 4 and look forward to future innovation the Prairie Research Institute and the U.S. DOE can develop that CWLP can bring to fruition.
Participants included University of Illinois System President Tim Killeen; Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder; City, State, and Federal officials; representatives from the University of Illinois and its Prairie Research Institute; U.S. Department of Energy; City Water, Light and Power (CWLP); Plumbers & Steamfitters #137; IBEW #193’ Boilermakers #363; and project partner companies Linde, ACS, and BASF.
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Media Contact: Angie Coy, wisehart@illinois.edu, 217-552-3364
