Washington, DC - Today, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), Ranking Member on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, praised the Department of Energy’s (DOE) $1,984,135 investment in an ongoing research project at West Virginia University (WVU). This DOE investment supports the Boiler Health Monitoring Using a Hybrid First Principles-Artificial Intelligence Model project at WVU. This project was one of 17 selected to receive federal funding for cost-shared research and development under funding opportunity announcement Improving Efficiency, Reliability, and Flexibility of Existing Coal-Based Power Plants. 

“I’m glad to see this investment in the exciting research being conducted at West Virginia University. We know the United States will continue to rely on coal-powered generation to secure our electric grid for years to come. That’s why projects like this one at WVU are important to ensure we are moving towards efficient energy solutions,” Senator Manchin said.  

DOE selected these projects as part of its Transformative Power Generation Program and Crosscutting Research Program. The projects will develop, in the near term, advanced technologies that improve the overall performance, reliability, and flexibility of the Nation’s existing coal-fired power fleet. This research will support DOE’s goal to improve the average modeled efficiency (i.e., heat rate) of a typical plant in the existing fleet by 5 percent from the 2017 baseline of 31 percent by the end of Fiscal Year 2020.

To read more about the selected projects please click HERE.DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory will manage all of the selected projects. More information about the National Energy Technology Laboratory is available HERE. To learn more about the programs within the Office of Fossil Energy, visit their website HERE.

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