Electricity Generating Plc (Egco), a subsidiary of state-run Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, has started using hydrogen to fuel electricity generation at its power plant in the US, part of efforts to shift towards cleaner energy to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Under a hydrogen blending programme, the company adopted the combined combustion of both natural gas and off-gas, including hydrogen, at the 172-megawatt Linden Cogen Unit 6 in New Jersey.
Refinery off-gas is a mixture of gases generated during the refining of crude oil.
Linden Cogen Unit 6 will use off-gas containing hydrogen produced from an adjacent oil refinery -- Phillips 66 Bayway Refinery -- and blend it with natural gas to fuel the power plant's gas turbine.
Thepparat Theppitak, president of Egco, said this innovative approach is expected to curb carbon dioxide emissions by reducing the quantity of natural gas utilised for power and steam generation.
The project enhances the overall operational efficiency of both the refinery and Linden Cogen while reducing overall carbon dioxide emissions by around 10% of annual carbon dioxide emissions from Linden Cogen Unit 6.
This improvement is achieved within the gas turbine's strict nitrogen dioxide emission requirements, highlighting a commitment to environmental sustainability and regulatory compliance, said Mr Thepparat.
"We are committed to promoting the adoption of cleaner fuels and the pursuit of excellence in new cutting-edge power generation technologies," he said.
The Linden Cogen facility is a 972MW gas-fired thermal cogeneration plant. It consists of Linden Unit 1-5, with power generation capacity of 800MW and Linden Unit 6.
Linden Cogen is owned by Jera Americas (50%), Egco (28%), DBJ (12%), GS-Platform Partners (10%).