Ellington

GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi Power says it has started producing "syngas" using lignite at the Kemper County power plant being built in Mississippi.

Syngas is created when lignite is heated at high temperatures in the plant's gasifiers, converting the coal to gas. When fully operational, the plant is designed to not only generate electricity, but also to capture marketable products from the syngas like carbon dioxide.

Mississippi Power President and CEO Anthony Wilson, in a statement Friday, described the production as a "major achievement" for the Kemper project, which has a completion date of Sept. 30. He says the milestone proves Kemper's technology can provide "a way forward for coal and puts us a step closer to full plant operation."