NEWS RELEASE                                   JANUARY 2007

$75 Billion Investment In NO_x Control For The World’s Coal-fired Power Plants

By 2010 coal-fired power plants around the world will have invested $24 billion in NO_x control equipment.  By 2020 the investment will have risen to $75 billion.  But despite this investment, NO_x emissions will rise from 26 million tons this year to 30 million tons in 2020.  These are the findings in the continually updated online report, NO_x Control World Markets, published by the McIlvaine Company.

The two principle methods for NO_x reduction are selective catalytic reduction (SCR) and selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR).  World SCR/SNCR installations in coal-fired power plants will total 318,000 MW in 2010, but will rise to over 1,000,000 MW in 2020.  This means that 70,000 MW of new systems will be required each year in the 2011-20 period.

China has now joined the more developed countries with a program to reduce NO_x.  The forecast includes 150,000 MW of SCR in China by 2020.  However, with a projected 753,000 MW of coal-fired boilers operating in that year, NO_x emissions will still be considerably higher than they are today.

Uncontrolled NO_x varies greatly depending on the boiler type and operation.  However, for estimating purposes, we have determined the averages as 24 tons/MW for uncontrolled boilers and 2 tons/MW for controlled units.

Ozone has both health and other environmental concerns.  However, it will not get the attention in less developed countries that will be given to SO₂ and particulate.  Thus total NO_x will only decrease from 26 million tons in 2005 to 25 million tons in 2010 and will rise to 30 million tons in 2020.

NO_x Control Equipment and Emissions in 2020

                                              In              Plants       Controlled NO_x                        Uncontrolled NO_x 

                                       Operation    with SCR     Tons @ 2 tons/  Uncontrolled   Tons @ 24 tons/   NO_x Total

Country                                              MW             MW            MW (tons)               (MW)             MW (tons)             (tons)

Total NAFTA                             433,769         382,500             765,000                 51,269            1,230,444           1,995,444

Total Americas                           445,033         382,500             765,000                 62,533            1,500,792           2,265,792

Total Western Europe               220,815         188,815             377,630                 32,000              768,000            1,145,630

Total Europe & CIS                   453,532          234,445            468,890                219,087           5,258,083           5,726,974

Total Europe, CIS

   Africa, Middle East                519,688         289,158             578,316                230,530           5,532,720            6,111,036

Total Asia                               1,262,559          375,142            750,284                887,417          21,298,015          22,048,299

Total World                           2,227,280      1,046,800      2,093,600       1,180,480         28,331,527          30,425,127                            

Plants with controls will account for nearly 50 percent of the generating capacity but only 7 percent of the NO_x emissions.  Asia will account for 22 million tons of NO_x emissions in 2020 or 73 percent of the total world emissions from coal-fired plants.  However, should China and other Asian countries do as much to reduce NO_x as they will to reduce SO₂, then NO_x emissions could be reduced drastically.  In fact, installation of SCR on all the Asian units would bring a 19 million ton per year additional reduction.

Major beneficiaries of the NO_x control efforts will be the catalyst manufacturers, suppliers of ammonia and urea, and the pollution control system suppliers.