Plant of the future? DOE seeks info on small, modular coal

Utility Dive: DOE's request includes some lofty language, befitting the challenge ahead. The agency says it envisions "plants of the future" that will be lower in cost, "designed using advanced methods," small scale, highly efficient, and able to "load follow to meet the demands of an evolving electricity grid."

DOE also said the plants would be "highly efficient (greater than 40 percent efficiency)," but that threshold has already been topped at larger plants. Last year, Power Magazine reported the most efficient coal plant in the United States reached 42%, though the fleet averages a bit over 37%.For comparison, Japan's fleet was found to be the most efficient, at 41.6%.

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