The project will be located at the active McElroy operation near Glen Easton in Marshall County and is set to demonstrate significant methane emissions reductions safely and without impact on the mine’s production or everyday operations.
In addition to being the first of its kind in West Virginia, the VAM project ranks above the largest such ventures in the US to date.
"Companies will require a wide range of tools and incentives to effectively reduce GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions," Consol research and development vice-president Steve Winberg said.
"Consol Energy has committed to utilize as much of its coal mine methane resources as possible. This project will allow us to abate a dilute source of methane that has no commercial value and would otherwise be vented into the atmosphere."
Verdeo managing director Jeff Liebert said the company was pleased at the opportunity to finance and co-develop the project with the Pennsylvania-based producer.
"Through this collaboration, Consol continues to be on the cutting edge of research and new technology development, and is demonstrating its leadership in the effort to proactively reduce GHG emissions," he said.
The VAM project will use regenerative thermal oxidation technology to destroy McElroy’s GHG emissions and will test the ability to use RTO equipment in the mining sector on a commercial scale.
"This project is a stepping stone to utilizing this commercially available equipment on our other mines, reducing our overall methane emissions and potentially creating carbon offset credits," Winberg said.
Voluntary initiatives such as the McElroy project, Consol noted, can generate revenue from carbon offset credit sales. Value through those credits can help secure capital for RTO technology.
“The carbon offset credits generated from the VAM oxidation project at the McElroy mine will be registered with the Climate Action Reserve, a leading pre-compliance certification program in the US that approved a protocol for coal mine methane projects in 2009,” the company said.
Development of the project has commenced and it is expected to be operational in next year’s second quarter.
