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The Sihe Coal Mine in Jincheng city, Shanxi Province, China, is the site of the world’s largest coal methane power plant. When fully operational the project will employ 60 Caterpillar methane-gas-powered generator sets to create 120 megawatts of power. Following the success of this project, Caterpillar has been selected to provide an additional 31 methane-gas-powered generator sets to produce 54 megawatts of power at the Cheng Zhuang and Mei Gan Shi coal mines in the same city in Shanxi Province. The 3500 series generators used in these projects are produced at Caterpillar's Large Engine Center in Lafayette, Indiana. The Shanxi Jincheng Anthracite Coal Mining Group Co., Ltd. is the project developer for all three coal methane power plants. Caterpillar will work closely with its dealer WesTrac China Limited on product commissioning and ongoing support for these projects. Methane gas found in coal seams can be highly volatile and it is a major cause of underground explosions. Historically the CMM has been vented into the atmosphere. By capturing the previously vented methane gas and converting it into electricity, the Caterpillar generator sets will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve mine safety and increase the capacity of the local power grid. This article was found in the Coalbed Methane Outreach Program (CMOP) Newsletter: http://www.epa.gov/cmop/index.html. |
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