Huntly Underground Coal Gasification Pilot Plant

In April 2012 Solid Energy commissioned its Huntly Underground Coal Gasification Pilot Plant.

Background
Solid Energy CEO, Don Elder, stated that the company "has access to around 2 billion tonnes of coal in the Huntly Coal Field. Most is too deep to be economic using conventional mining. UCG can potentially allow us to access most of this, which represents 10 times the energy of the Maui gas field." In its 2011 annual report the company stated that in December 2010 it received resource consents to produce synthetic gas for electricity generation. "The UCG pilot will convert up to 30,000 tonnes of coal into syngas and operate for up to two years on private property within our existing Huntly West Coal Mining Licence area. It will provide process, technical and geological information, and verify modelled environmental effects. This information will be used to optimise the design of a commercial operation."

Project Details
Owner:  Solid Energy Location: near Rotongaro, New Zealand Coordinates: -37.52078,175.072491 (approximate location) Status: Pilot plant Production capacity: Type of coal: Employees: Main markets: test underground coal gasification plant producing syngas

Related SourceWatch Resources

 * New Zealand and coal
 * New Zealand Mining Industry Association
 * Solid Energy

External Resources

 * Solid Energy, "Underground Coal Gasification Pilot Plant Project: Resource Consent Applications and Assessment of Environmental Effects", Solid Energy, February 2010.