Company officials have said the international effort is world's first project to integrate combustion of fuel and the capture, compression and sequestration of carbon dioxide. Officials said the project plays a significant role in the study, development and implementation of CCS technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

AEP used the occasion to promote an “Energy, Economy, Environment” theme.

“This is a historic moment at a historic place,” said CEO Michael G. Morris, noting the project illustrates that it’s possible to power the country, clean the air and grow the economy.

Carbon is captured through Alstom’s patented chilled ammonia process. CO2 is compressed into a liquid-like state and injected into the brine-filled geologic formations about 1.5 miles below the plate site for permanent storage with an impermeable cap rock. Nearby monitoring wells are used to verify and evaluate the storage conditions. The project began earlier this fall and will operate for one to five years, according to AEP.

At current capacity, AEP said the operation is capable of capturing and storing about 100,000 metric tons of carbon per year. That represents 90 percent of the CO2 from a 20-megawatt electric slipstream of the plant’s flue gas. This represents a small portion of the plant’s total capacity.

AEP has applied for federal funding to scale up the CCS project to a 235-megawatt level that would increase the amount of carbon captured and stored to an estimated 1.5 million metric tons per year.

Gov. Joe Manchin said the project validates the claim that clean coal has a viable place in the global energy portfolio. He said it’s important to strike a balance between environmental and economic concerns.

“What we are seeing here today is that it can be done,” he said. “Coal will continue to be part of the energy equation. We want to make sure that West Virginia coal is part of this transition period.”

Answers to the impact of fossil fuel on the environment can be found with the right resources, ingenuity and technology, the governor said.

“We want to find solutions, not just cast stones at the problems,” he added.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., noted that climate change is not a hoax and must be dealt with in a responsible, timely manner through expanding technologies.

“We have to do something about it,” he commented. “You cannot be afraid of the future. You have to embrace the future.”

“Mountaineer has led the way,” Rockefeller continued. “People need to come and see what is being done here today.”