St. Louis-based Arch Coal, the US' second largest coal producer - serving both the domestic and global steel sectors, and Nebraska, US-based energy company Tenaska, Inc. announced on March 11 that Arch Coal has acquired a 35 percent equity interest in the Trailblazer Energy Center, which is being developed by Tenaska near Sweetwater, Texas. The investment will be staged over time as the development of the project reaches key milestones.
According to a joint press release, the Trailblazer Energy Center will rank among the world's cleanest fossil fuel-based power plants. Moreover, Trailblazer will supply the Texas economy with an additional 600 megawatts of clean, secure, reliable electric generating capacity.
Trailblazer will emit 70 percent less CO2 than the cleanest natural gas-based power plants. It will ship the captured CO2 to the nearby Permian Basin to boost oil production and extend the life of that critically important domestic energy resource.
As part of the agreement, Arch will supply the plant's fuel needs for the first 20 years of operation from its Powder River Basin operations in Wyoming.