The Kemper County Energy Facility is still expected to reach full operation by the end of November, but at a higher cost than owner Mississippi Power had anticipated as recently as last month. The carbon capture and storage project is now expected to cost $6.91 billion, according to an Oct. 28 monthly filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Mississippi Power increased the projected cost of the facility by $33 million in September. “Further cost increases and/or extensions of the expected in-service date may result from factors including, but not limited to, difficulties integrating the systems required for sustained operations, major equipment failure, unforeseen engineering or design problems including any repairs and/or modifications to systems, and/or operational performance,” the filing says.
The facility was initially billed at $2.4 billion and would have reached full operation in May 2014 under its original timeline.
The project, a new-build, pre-combustion CCS facility near the city of Meridian, has been producing energy with natural gas for two years, and recently produced electricity with syngas. Once fully operational, the plant will use Mississippi lignite, a low-rank brown coal, to produce electricity. It will employ a custom integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) system and CCS technology to produce carbon emissions roughly equal to that of natural gas. The CCS and IGCC portions of the plant are not yet online.
Mississippi Power said it will continue testing the production of electricity from both gasifiers. “If integrated operation of both gasifiers does not occur by mid-November, the expected in-service date and related cost estimate for the Kemper IGCC likely would require further revision,” the filling says.