ATLANTA, Sept. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Southern Company today announced that China will be the site for the first worldwide commercial implementation of the Transport Integrated Gasification (TRIG™) technology for producing low-emission coal-based electricity.

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TRIG is an advanced integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) technology that produces electricity with lower emissions than traditional coal power plants. It also is compatible with lower rank coals that are abundant in China.

The technology was developed by Southern Company, KBR Inc., and other partners, including the U.S. Department of Energy, at the DOE's research facility in Wilsonville, Ala., that is managed and operated by Southern Company.

Under the terms of their technology licensing arrangements with KBR Inc., the companies will provide Beijing Guoneng Yinghui Clean Energy Engineering Co., Ltd. with licensing, engineering services and proprietary equipment for the implementation of TRIG technology at a power plant operated by Dongguan Tianming Electric Power Co., Ltd. (Dongguan TMEP) in Guandong Province, Peoples Republic of China.

At the Dongguan TMEP facility, TRIG technology will be added to an existing gas turbine combined cycle plant so that it can use clean synthetic gas from coal as its fuel for generating electricity, rather than fuel oil.

"China's rapid growth vividly demonstrates the global need for advanced technologies to ensure reliable, affordable and cleaner supplies of energy," said Southern Company Chairman, President and CEO David Ratcliffe. "This plant will demonstrate that TRIG offers an effective technological solution to these challenges."

The 120-megawatt Dongguan TMEP plant, expected to begin operation in 2011, would demonstrate an example of advanced U.S. IGCC technology that is being developed in partnership between the DOE and industry. This IGCC technology is compatible with carbon capture, and its deployment in China is an important step toward positioning IGCC for future integration with carbon capture technology.

Ratcliffe also noted that Southern Company subsidiary Mississippi Power currently is seeking regulatory approval to build a 582-megawatt plant using TRIG technology in Kemper County, Miss. That plant would include 65 percent carbon capture and sequestration.

With 4.4 million customers and more than 42,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is the premier energy company serving the Southeast. A leading U.S. producer of electricity, Southern Company owns electric utilities in four states and a growing competitive generation company, as well as fiber optics and wireless communications. Southern Company brands are known for excellent customer service, high reliability and retail electric prices that are below the national average. Southern Company is consistently listed among the top U.S. electric service providers in customer satisfaction by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Visit our Web site at www.southerncompany.com.

SOURCE Southern Company

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SOURCE: Southern Company

Web site: http://www.southerncompany.com/