China and Australia plan to build the world's first commercial power plant using the technology of integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) in Australia, said sources from the National Development and Reform Committee (NDRC).

"China will be in charge of equipment production, and Australian will provide the technology," said Jiang Kejun, from the China Energy Research Institute of the NDRC, at a forum held in Beijing recently.

IGCC is a power plant technology using synthetic gas (syngas) as a source of clean fuel. Syngas is produced in a gasification unit built for combined cycle purposes, hence the integrated name.

Steam generated by waste heat boilers of the gasification process is utilized to help power steam turbines. Heavy petroleum residue and coal with a high sulphur content and even biomass are possible feeds - raw materials - for the gasification process.

There are only a handful of IGCC plants in operation for power generation. These plants are by far the most environmentally friendly in the use of coal.

The IGCC power plant in Australia is expected to be completed in 2008, with a total investment of 670 million Australian dollars (US$507 million). The designed capacity is 400,000 kilowatts.

Australia has promised to support the development of clean energy technology with 100 million Australia dollars (US$76 million), according to Jiang.

The equipment provider, Harbin Electric Power Equipment General Plant in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, will invest 4 billion yuan (US$500 million) in production.

"Through such co-operation, China can master the technology of producing IGCC equipment," said Jiang.

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