Kemper in Perspective

The author asserts that the $7 billion cost of the Kemper plant in Mississippi is attributable to the first-of-a-kind TRIG gasifier and construction issues, not the Selexol carbon capture technology, which is a well-established process used in over 110 projects. The document contrasts Kemper with the Petra Nova project in Texas, which was completed on budget as a retrofit. Kemper is presented as globally significant because it demonstrates the storage side of coal gasification, offering a potential model for coal-to-chemicals plants in China to stop venting CO2. Domestically, the project demonstrates the expandability of the U.S. CO2 pipeline network. The author concludes by calling for Congressional incentives, such as production tax credits, to accelerate the deployment of carbon capture in the power and industrial sectors.

• The high costs and schedule delays of the Kemper plant were caused by the construction of a first-of-a-kind TRIG coal gasifier and associated piping and labor issues, not the carbon capture equipment.
• The carbon capture technology used at Kemper, known as Selexol, is a well-established technology developed in the 1950s with more than 110 operational projects, mostly at chemical plants.
• The Petra Nova project in Texas serves as a counter-example to Kemper, as it was a retrofit of an existing plant that focused only on carbon capture and was completed on budget and on schedule using 90% private capital.
• Kemper has global significance because it demonstrates the storage of CO2 from coal gasification, which could lead to enormous emission reductions if adopted by coal-to-chemicals plants in China that currently vent captured CO2.
• The Kemper project demonstrates the feasibility of expanding the existing U.S. CO2 pipeline network by extending the Denbury Company system, providing a pathway for reductions in the power and industrial sectors.

APA

Thompson, J. (2017). Kemper in Perspective. Clean Air Task Force. https://www.catf.us/2017/01/kemper-in-perspective/

Chicago

Thompson, John. Kemper in Perspective. Clean Air Task Force, 2017. https://www.catf.us/2017/01/kemper-in-perspective/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Thompson |first1=John |title=Kemper in Perspective |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=31 January 2017 |url=https://www.catf.us/2017/01/kemper-in-perspective/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{thompson2017kemper, author = {Thompson, John}, title = {{Kemper in Perspective}}, publisher = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2017}, month = jan, url = {https://www.catf.us/2017/01/kemper-in-perspective/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }