Carbon Energy Managing Director Andrew Dash said this achievement represents a major step forward for the company as it moves closer to its first revenue milestone – connection to Ergon Energy’s local electricity grid, expected in October this year.

Mr Dash said this landmark achievement brought cleaner, low-cost energy closer to commercial reality and builds on the ten-year underground coal gasification (UCG) technology research previously conducted in conjunction with the CSIRO.

“The generation of electricity from syngas further demonstrates the value of UCG in delivering a viable method of power generation, which is more environmentally friendly than traditional coal-fired power plants,” said Mr Dash.

“Importantly, as demand for low-cost, cleaner energy continues to grow in Australia and around the world, our capabilities to produce base-load electricity from otherwise stranded coal resources will be valued more significantly by the market.”

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Over the past weeks, Carbon Energy has been focused on successfully testing its gas engines under load. Electricity is currently being produced at the maximum rate allowable under current approvals, with up to of 1 megawatt (MW) of electricity being generated and transmitted into a load bank, located at site. This replicates continuous supply of electricity into the grid and confirms the use of syngas for sustainable electricity generation. Testing of each of the three engines in turn will continue over the coming weeks ready for connection to Ergon Energy’s local area network in October.

Work also continues to progress with the Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management on amendments to the company’s existing environmental approvals to ramp up production to 5 MW. These approvals are being progressed in parallel to the connection of the power station to the local grid.

Mr Dash said Carbon Energy had recently announced expansion projects in the United States, Chile, and Turkey, but the Bloodwood Creek project was the first step in the company’s plans to generate electricity for the domestic market.

“UCG power generation creates a much lower environmental impact than many other coal and gas extraction methods. It can also generate more energy from the same resource space and monetises otherwise stranded coal resources for more efficient utilisation of the resource,” he said.