PPL Corporation Secures $72 Million DOE Award for Carbon Capture Project

PPL Corporation (PPL) announced today that it has been chosen, along with its research partners, for a $72 million award negotiation by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED). The funding is intended to support a groundbreaking carbon dioxide (CO2) capture research and development project estimated to exceed $100 million in total.

The project, developed in collaboration with the University of Kentucky and other partners, will be implemented at PPL subsidiaries Louisville Gas and Electric Company’s (LG&E) and Kentucky Utilities Company’s (KU) Cane Run 7 natural gas combined-cycle generating station in Louisville, Ky.

Vincent Sorgi, President and Chief Executive Officer of PPL, emphasized the company’s commitment to a comprehensive clean energy strategy aimed at achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. He stated, “We’re focused on driving innovation and advancing technologies that can be scaled safely, reliably, and affordably to meet our customers’ energy needs, including carbon capture and sequestration technologies.”

The project entails the development of a new 20-megawatt research system at Cane Run, designed to capture a portion of the CO2 emissions from the natural gas plant’s flue gas using advanced heat-integrated CO2 capture technology. The goal is to capture up to 240 tons of CO2 per day and up to 90,000 metric tons of CO2 per year, equivalent to the annual emissions of 20,000 gasoline-powered cars.

Plans also include beneficially reusing and purifying the captured CO2 by a nearby manufacturer. Furthermore, the project aims to expand training and internship programs, collaborating with local community leaders, organizations, and educational institutions, including a Historically Black College and University, to develop the workforce needed for the project.

Collaborators on the project include EPRI, Kentucky State University, Visage Energy, American Welding & Gas, Vogt Power International Inc., Siemens Energy, and Koch Modular Process Systems. PPL subsidiaries LG&E and KU have a longstanding partnership with the University of Kentucky on carbon capture research projects, dating back nearly two decades.

Dr. Eli Capilouto, President of the University of Kentucky, highlighted the significance of scaling up the university’s carbon capture technology and utilizing technology transfer to benefit Kentucky’s energy-intensive manufacturing sectors.

This initiative is part of PPL’s broader effort, involving over 150 research and development projects with more than 30 industry and academic partners, aimed at accelerating low-carbon energy technologies, strengthening network resiliency, and building the grid of the future.

Sorgi expressed gratitude for the Department of Energy’s support, underscoring the value of collaboration in unlocking and accelerating clean energy innovation. He emphasized the company’s eagerness to collaborate with research partners to benefit customers and the environment.