Synthetic fuels. Status of the Great Plains Coal Gasification Project, August 1, 1985

Technical Report · Sun Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1985

OSTI ID:6041148

Bowsher, C A

In December 1984, the Great Plains Gasification Associates had essentially finished constructing the nation's first commercial-scale coal gasification plant. As of July 31, 1985, Great Plains had contributed about $537 million in equity to the project and had borrowed $1.54 billion against a federal load guarantee made available by the Department of Energy (DOE). Since 1984 the project has faced deteriorating financial projections in the wake of declining energy prices. This is GAO's eighth semiannual report on Great Plains and covers the project's progress from January through August 1, 1985. GAO's objectives were to report on (1) the status of Great Plains' attempt to obtain additional federal financial assistance and (2) the status of the project's operational startup activities as of August 1, 1985. The Department of Energy Act of 1978 requires GAO to report on the status of the loan guarantee. Even though the Synthetic Fuels Corporation approved price guarantees in principle for Great Plains, DOE announced, on July 30, 1985, that it would not agree to restructuring its guaranteed loan. DOE rejected the proposed agreement, saying that it would not assure long-term plant operation at a reasonable cost to the taxpayers. The Great Plains sponsors then terminated their participation in the project on August 1, 1985, and defaulted on the $1.54 billion DOE-guaranteed loan. DOE directed the project administrator, ANG Coal Gasification Company, to continue plant operations pending a DOE decision about the project's future. DOE is assessing options including operating, leasing, selling, shutting down, mothballing, and scrapping the plant.

• Research Organization: Office of the Comptroller General, Washington, DC (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6041148
• Report Number(s): GAO/RCED-86-36; ON: TI86901165
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
010404* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Gasification
015000 -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Economic
Industrial
& Business Aspects
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
294001 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Coal
COAL GASIFICATION PLANTS
CONSTRUCTION
DATA
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
ECONOMICS
ENERGY SOURCES
FEDERAL REGION VIII
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
FINANCIAL INCENTIVES
FINANCING
FLUIDS
FORECASTING
FOSSIL FUELS
FUEL GAS
FUELS
GAS FUELS
GASES
HIGH BTU GAS
HISTORICAL ASPECTS
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
INDUSTRY
INFORMATION
LEASING
LEGISLATION
LOAN GUARANTEES
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NATURAL GAS
NORTH AMERICA
NORTH DAKOTA
NUMERICAL DATA
OPERATION
PRICES
SHUTDOWNS
SYNTHETIC FUELS CORPORATION
SYNTHETIC FUELS INDUSTRY
US DOE
US GAO
US ORGANIZATIONS
USA