The goals of the program are to develop a coal-fired high performance power generation system (HIPPS) by the year 2000 that is capable of > 47% thermal efficiency; NO{sub x} SO {sub x} and Particulates 65% of heat input and all solid wastes benign. In order to achieve these goals our team has outlined a research plan based on an optimized analysis of a 250 MW{sub e} combined cycle system applicable to both frame type and aeroderivative gas turbines. Under the constraints of the cycle analysis we have designed a high temperature advanced furnace (HITAF) which integrates several combustor and air heater designs with appropriate ash management procedures. Most of this report discusses the details of work on these components, and the R&D Plan for future work. The discussion of the combustor designs illustrates how detailed modeling can be an effective tool to estimate NO{sub x} production, minimum burnout lengths, combustion temperatures and even particulate impact on the combustor walls. When our model is applied to the long flame concept it indicates that fuel bound nitrogen will limit the range of coals that can use this approach. For high nitrogen coals a rapid mixing, rich-lean, deep staging combustor will be necessary. The air heater design has evolved into two segments: a convective heat exchanger downstream of the combustion process; a radiant panel heat exchanger, located in the combustor walls; The relative amount of heat transferred either radiatively or convectively will depend on the combustor type and the ash properties.