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Date: 2012-12-19
The Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) Market 2013-2023 -- The value of the global CCS market will be $7.78 billion in 2013. This report looks into the opportunities that the global CCS market offers and its application to various industries that emit CO2 besides large power plants, and examines various government policies and initiatives that are stimulating industries to implement clean or low carbon technologies by adopting CCS technologies. Among those policies considered are carbon tax, prospects of carbon emission trading schemes (ETS), direct funding for carbon capture and storage and other awards for innovations. A report Executive Summary and free sample pages are available at http://www.giiresearch.com/report/gd256330-carbon-capture-storage-ccs-coal-fired-plants.html
Global Carbon Management Software and Services Market 2011-2015 -- The global market for carbon management software and services (CMSS) is forecast to grow at a 35.9% CAGR through 2015. One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the increasing shift toward green concepts. The Global CMSS market has also been witnessing increased number of governmental rules and regulations. However, lack of awareness regarding CMSS could pose a challenge to the growth of this market. Key vendors dominating this market space include Enablon North America Corp., Enviance Inc., Hara Software Inc., and IHS Inc. Other vendors mentioned in this report include Advantage IQ Inc., Accenture plc, PE International GmbH, IBM Corp., Summit Energy Services Inc., Greenstone Carbon Management Ltd., CarbonSystems Pty Ltd., Carbonetworks, Deloitte Inc., Foresite Systems Ltd., Intelex Technologies Inc., Perillon Software Inc., ProcessMAP Corp., TRIRIGA Inc., Verisae Inc., and Verteego. An Executive Summary and free sample pages are available at http://www.giiresearch.com/report/infi245872-global-carbon-management-software-services-market.html
(Source: Global Information Inc, Dec. 18, 2012) Contact: Global Information Inc., http://www.giiresearch.com
Tags CCS news,
Date: 2012-12-05
Qatar, the world's largest LNG producer , has pledged $70 million for a CCS R&D project which is part of the oil-rich kingdom's efforts to reduce CO2 emissions. The pleadge was made by a senior official of Qatar Petroleum ( QP ) yesterday at COP18. The official indicated that CCS was being considered as an alternative to CO2 emission reduction.
The 10-year research project aims to explore new CCS storage technologies and is a joint initiative of energy giant Shell Oil, QP and the Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP) in collaboration with Imperial College, London.
As of today, there are only 23 active and 53 planned CCS projects worldwide. (Source: Zaway, 4 December, 2012) Contact: Qatar Petroleum, +974 4449 1449, www.qp.com.qa
Tags CCS news, Carbon Emissions news,
Date: 2012-12-03
Although currently negligible in prominence, carbon capture and storage (CCS) could be the technology that makes the world's carbon emission reduction targets achievable, according to energy expert GlobalData.
CCS techniques, such as enhanced oil recovery, have been extensively used in the energy sector but only recently has the concept of long-term carbon storage been viewed as a viable tool for reducing the amount of carbon released from power plants into the atmosphere. Correspondingly, only 238 MW of CCS capacity was installed globally at the end of 2011. A more substantial 10 GW is, however, expected to come online by 2020.
China, the US, Australia, Japan, Norway, the Netherlands and the UK have invested heavily in CCS R&D and are the global leaders in the industry. Even so, there are currently no active large-scale CCS projects for coal-fired power plants.
(Source: ESI-Africa, Dec. 3, 2012) Contact: Global Data, (646) 395-5477, www.globaldata.com
Tags GlobalData news, CCS news, Carbon Emission Target news,
Date: 2012-09-17
Shell, Qatar Petroleum (QP) and Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP) have opened the world's largest suite of laboratories to research Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) in carbonate rock formations. The new laboratories form part of the Qatar Carbonates and Carbon Storage Research Centre (QCCSRC ) at Imperial College London and are part of a $70 million, 10-year partnership between Shell, QP, QSTP and Imperial College.
The new laboratories represent a significant step forward in the development of CCS as a solution to climate change, by helping to build knowledge that can be used to unlock the vast CO2 storage potential of carbonate reservoirs. Laboratory researchers will also analyze how liquids and gases move through carbonate rock to optimize oil and gas production. The research in the new laboratories will be the first in the world to utilise multi-scale X-Ray CT technology alongside other state-of-the-art measurement and modelling techniques to understand the way CO2 interacts with, and flows in, carbonate rock formations.
With more than 50 researchers, including PhD students from Qatar, the new venture will create one of the largest university-based CCS research teams in the world.
The programme will operate internationally in both Qatar and the UK over the coming years with the main site ultimately located in Qatar and hosted at QSTP, which will provide state-of-the-art equipment and facilities.
(Source: Gulf Times, Sept. 16, 2012)
Tags CCS news,
Date: 2012-09-05
In Calgary, Alberta, Royal Dutch Shell is proceeding with the first CCS project for a Canadian oilsands operation. The Quest project will be built on behalf of the Athabasca Oil Sands Project's joint venture owners, which include Shell, Chevron and Marathon Oil. It also has the support of the Canadian and Alberta governments.
Beginning in late 2015, Quest will capture and store deep underground more than one million tonnes a year of CO2 produced in bitumen processing. Quest will reduce direct emissions from the Scotford upgrader by up to 35 per cent. Quest is the world's first commercial-scale CCS project to tackle carbon emissions in the oilsands, and the first CCS project in which Shell will hold majority ownership and act as designer, builder and operator. It will also form the core of Shell's CCS research program and help develop its CO2 capture technology. Shell has received the necessary federal and provincial regulatory approvals for Quest.
The Alberta government plans to invest $745 million in Quest from a $2-billion fund to support CCS, while the Canadian federal government in Ottawa will provide $120 million through its Clean Energy Fund.
The captured CO2 from will be transported via an 80-kilometre underground pipeline to a storage site north of Scotford where it will be injected two kilometres underground into a porous rock formation called the Basal Cambrian Sands, located beneath layers of impermeable rock. (Source: Royal Dutch Shell, 5 Sept., 2012) Contact: Shell, www.shell.com
Tags Royal Dutch Shell news, CCS news, Albert Oilsands news,
Date: 2012-08-21
Research into carbon reduction at The University of Melbourne received a $3 million boost last week with the launch of the new Peter Cook Center for Carbon Capture and Storage Research. The (CO2CRC) will oversee research at the new center, which has been sponsored by Rio Tinto with $3 million in funding over 3 years. A further $3 million in Rio Tinto funding over 3 years will support the CO2CRC Otway Project, Australia's first demonstration of geological carbon dioxide storage, as a field site for carbon storage research.
The Peter Cook Center for CCS Research will incorporate existing extensive research hosting more than 30 scientists working on CCS. The Peter Cook Center for CCS Research is a collaborative partnership between CO2CRC, Rio Tinto, The University of Melbourne and the Victorian Department of Primary Industries.
The centre will bring together professors and researchers from a wide variety of disciplines, including the chemical and process engineering associated with capturing CO2 from power plants, and the geology and geomechanics required for storage of carbon dioxide in deep rock formations.
The CO2CRC is one of the world's leading collaborative research organizations focused on carbon dioxide capture and storage. The CO2CRC is a joint venture comprising participants from Australian and global industry, universities and other research bodies from Australia and New Zealand, and Australian Commonwealth, State and international government agencies. (Source: Melbourne School of Engineering, Aug. 21, 2012) Contact: Melbourne School of Engineering, www.eng.unimelb.edu.au
Rio Tinto, Rio Tinto, + 44 20 7781 2000, www.riotinto.com
Tags CCS news, Rio Tinto news,
Date: 2012-08-21
In the UK, the University of Edinburgh's Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Research Center has been awarded £12.6 million by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. The funding will further the Center's CCS R&D activities.
Throughout the year the university research staff and students created a total of 35 companies, filed 62 patents and concluded 51 license agreements to allow commercial use of technologies developed on campus. (Source: Fife Today, Univ. of Edinburgh, 20 Aug., 2012)
Contact: University of Edinburgh, www.ed.ac.uk
Tags CCS news,
Date: 2012-05-23
It just occurred to me that there might be a way to both (a) spur the development of effective carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology and (b) circumvent the apparent political impossibility of creating a carbon price. It involves treating tonnes of greenhouse gas pollution like soda cans.
Instead of charging people a fee based on their tonnes of emissions, as an incentive to use less, you could require everyone to pay a disposal fee for the carbon up front when they buy oil, gas, or coal. It's possible to separate carbon dioxide (CO2) from air and to bury it underground. The cost of doing so could be built into the disposal fee. For instance, if it cost $600 to bury a tonne of carbon, there could be a $600 deposit required on that quantity of fossil fuel. If you burn it, capture the carbon and sequester it, then the deposit gets returned to you. If you just vent the CO2 into the air, then you lose the deposit. The effect is similar to a carbon tax, with an exemption for firms that demonstrably nullify their emissions. (Of course all the issues with safety and verification and CCS remain.)
A $600 carbon price would have a large and immediate effect on an economy like Canada's, so this probably isn't politically possible either. (Of course, it would be possible to start lower and scale up, giving people more time to adjust.) There may well be all sorts of other problems with it also, but I thought it was an idea worth contemplating. (Source: Milan Ilnyckyj, 18 May, 2012)
About the author: Originally from Vancouver, Milan Ilnyckyj is a graduate of the University of British Columbia (B.A. International Relations and Political Science) and the University of Oxford (M.Phil International Relations). In September 2012, he will be starting a PhD in Political Science at the University of Toronto and a Junior Fellowship at Massey College.
Date: 2012-05-17
According to environment group Greenpeace, Australian governments are wasting millions of dollars of public money on carbon capture and storage (CCS) research. Greenpeace says the collapse of CCS projects overseas and in Australia shows the technology is commercially not viable.
Julian Vincent of Greenpeace says governments are paying an unfair share of the research bill because the coal power industry is unwilling to invest. He says taxpayer money would be better spent on renewable energy projects such as solar and wind. "We need technologies, we need solutions that are on the table, that can be implemented in the next few years, if not already," he said.
A Victorian-based CCS research project has questioned Greenpeace's findings.
CEO Richard Aldous from the CO2 cooperative research center near Warrnambool says CCS is a viable option to slow climate change.
"All of the research that we're seeing is indicating that CCS is neck and neck with renewables in terms of its ability to contribute to the climate change fight " he said. (Source: Greenpeace, May 16, 2012) Contact: Greenpeace, www.greenpeace.org
Tags Greenpeace news, CCS Funding news,
Date: 2012-04-10
In the UK, Nottingham University will play a key role in the new UK Carbon Capture and Storage Research Centre (UKCCSRC), a £13 million initiative which will lead research into safe storage of GHG produced from power generation.
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) will invest £10 million in the Centre over a five-year period, with funding of £3 million from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to establish new capital facilities that will support innovative research. This forms part of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme, which is led by EPSRC.
DECC has also launched its CCS Commercialization Programme and Roadmap, setting out the Government's vision for achieving commercial deployment of CCS in the UK in the 2020s, including investing £125 million in CCS R&D between 2011-2015. A key priority will be to support the UK economy by driving an integrated research programme focused on maximizing the contribution of CCS to a low-carbon energy system for the UK. (Source: Nottingham University, April, 9, 2012) Contact: Nottingham University, www.nottingham.ac.uk
Tags CCS R&D news, DECC news,
Date: 2012-03-15
The National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS) has responded to environmental group World Wildlife Fund's (WWF) findings that Singapore has the largest carbon footprint per capita in the Asia-Pacific. The NCCS issued its response to "provide a better understanding of the facts" and took issue with the WWF citing Singapore as "a society that may be one of the best examples of what we should not do" - a statement which "seriously misrepresents the situation", said the NCCS. The secretariat cited how the Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) Asian Green City Index last year had assessed Singapore as Asia's greenest metropolis and said Singapore ranked "well above average" for its policies on energy and carbon emissions.
The EIU study found that Singapore used three megajoules of energy to generate US$1 (S$1.30) of GDP - half the Index's average of six megajoules. The Index had examined the environmental performance of 22 Asian cities in eight categories including environmental governance, air quality, energy and carbon dioxide emissions. The NCCS also noted that the methodology used by the WWF in its upcoming Asia Footprint Report differs from that of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The latter attributes emissions from goods to the country where they are produced, while WWF attributes carbon emissions from the goods to the importing country.
Based on the UNFCCC's method, Singapore ranked below countries such as Brunei, Australia and South Korea in terms of per capita emissions, said the NCCS. Even so, the NCCS noted "inherent limitations" in the use of per capita indicators to measure carbon emissions. "Carbon emissions per capita as a measure disadvantages countries with small populations," it said. This is so for Singapore due to its small land area, with no readily available alternative energy sources.
Singapore ranks favourably when it comes to energy intensity, the NCCS also pointed out.
Its CO2 emissions per dollar or GDP is among "the lowest internationally" - or 123 out of 137 countries, based on data from the International Energy Agency.
Last Monday, the WWF had revealed that Singapore topped the list of carbon emitters per capita in the Asia-Pacific, saying its high GDP per capita fueled consumption habits and citing the corporate sector and construction industry as a significant contributor.
(Source: Today Online, March 14, 2012) Contact: NCCS, www.nccs.gov.sg
Date: 2012-02-20
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) has released a Request for Proposals (RFP), titled, Feasibility of Accelerating the Deployment of Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) in Developing APEC Economies. The deadline for submission of proposals to the APEC Secretariat is March 23, 2012.
The project will focus on CO2 reuse prospects in developing APEC economies, practical possibilities for CO2 reuse and stimulating interest in exploring the near-term opportunities for CCUS in these economies. The project will cooperate with the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum (CSLF), whose focus has recently been broadened to include CCUS. The objectives of the project are:
Access APEC Request for Proposals (PDF) HERE. (Source: APEC, February 18, 2012) Contact: APEC, www.apec.org
Date: 2012-01-18
Abu Dhabi's Masdar reports that it has reached a deal with Scotland on a framework to develop a comprehensive renewable energy plan ranging from offshore wind power developments to carbon capture and storage. The agreement outlines four core areas of collaboration: carbon capture and storage; investment in the low carbon economy; renewable energy research and development; offshore and onshore wind.
The agreement also includes Masdar, the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, the Middle East's first home grown, research driven high level institute and Scottish Enterprise.
In Scotland, CCS research will be co-ordinated through the Energy Technology Partnership (ETP), an alliance of 12 independent Scottish Universities, engaged in world class related energy research, development and demonstration.
With around 250 faculty and 700 researchers, ETP is the largest, power and energy research partnership in Europe, and brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in renewables to the agreement to drive forward global-leading initiatives. (Source: TradeArabia News Service, January 17, 2012) Contact: Masdar, +971 2 653 3333, www.masdar.ae
Tags Masdar news,
Date: 2011-10-07
Global Carbon Project Management Company (WCO2) has launched its proprietary carbon emissions calculator that allows clients to calculate their individual or business carbon footprint and determine the number of required tonnes to offset their emissions.
WCO2 is a European based Business to Business provider, focusing on carbon offset project solutions and consultancy services for small to medium size businesses and carbon brokerage houses. Through the extensive global database of emerging and developed market offset projects, the company is able to work with leading companies to reduce their global footprint. WCO2 will provide the carbon calculator to its clients on both a white label and non white label basis, hence providing a valuable metric for both individuals and businesses, who wish to measure their carbon emissions.
Calculations available include household electricity and energy emissions, auto and transportation emissions,freight and cargo emissions, and office energy and space emissions methodology.
WCO2 utilized numerous governmental and non-governmental sources for the emissions methodology and the appropriate calculations. Predominantly the US Energy Information Administration was utilized, as this department supplied WCO2 with accurate up to date information and data. Other organizational bodies that were used include the Defra / DECCs Reporting, the World Resources Institute and the Environmental Protection Agency.(Source: WCO2, October, 6, 2011)
Contact: Otto Butchardt, WCO2, +43(0)1531470, www.w-co2.com
Date: 2011-09-28
On August 19 2011 an act amending the Dutch Mining Act in order to implement the EU Carbon Storage Directive (2009/31/EU) and the Ospar Decision (2007/2) on CO2 storage in geological formations has become law.
The act introduces a new license for permanent carbon storage. Applicants must demonstrate their financial and technical capability for such activities, submit a monitoring plan, provide any financial security that the minister may require. Holders of an exploration and production license cannot apply for a permanent CO2 storage license for the same reservoir at the same time. Former E&P licensees must submit a new application. The holder of an E&P license for minerals or geothermal heat has no priority status in obtaining a license for permanent storage or for the exploration of reservoirs for the purpose of permanent storage. This deviates from the system under the existing Mining Act, whereby the holder of an E&P license has priority status when obtaining a storage license for the same reservoir.
Under the new act, enhanced hydrocarbon recovery is not regarded as permanent storage The act requires the holder of a permanent carbon dioxide storage license to arrange for non-discriminatory third-party access against reasonable and transparent conditions to the storage facility. Such third-party access is also mandatory for the transport network to which the storage facility is connected.
Although the directive was due to be implemented by July 25 2011, the effective date of the new legislation has not yet been set. In line with Dutch state policy, it is expected to enter into force on January 1 2012. Draft amendments were published on September 15, 2011. (Source: Loyens & Loeff, September,26,2011)
Contact: Waldo Kapoen, Loyens & Loeff, +31 20 578 51 14 , [email protected]
More Energy Overviews CCS Reg. & Leg. news,
Date: 2011-09-26
In the Land Down Under, the successful completion of a $10 million critical research milestone in the Otway Project carried out by the Cooperative Research Center for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (CO2CRC) will accelerate the development of the CCS industry in Australia and around the world. The CO2CRC project is the world's first single well test that can be used to evaluate the CO2 storage capacity and security of geological carbon storage worldwide.
Similar projects are being explored in Chine, including a post-combustion capture project at a power station in Beijing and an enhanced coal-bed methane project that aims to further develop tools to understand the interactions between injected CO2 and coal at multiple sites in China.(Source: CO2CRC, September, 22, 2011)
Contact: CO2CRC, +61 2 6120 1600, www.co2crc.com.au; Australia's Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism, +61 2 6276 1000, www.ret.gov.au
Date: 2011-09-09
The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) has released the third edition of the Carbon Sequestration Atlas of the United States and Canada (Atlas III). Production of Atlas III is the result of collaboration among carbon storage experts from local, State, and Federal agencies, as well as industry and academia.
Atlas III provides a coordinated update of carbon capture and storage (CCS) potential across most of the United States and portions of Canada. The primary purpose of Atlas III is to update the CO2 storage potential for the United States and Canada, and to provide updated information on the Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships' (RCSPs) field activities. In addition, Atlas III outlines DOE's Carbon Sequestration Program, DOE's international CCS collaborations, worldwide CCS projects, and CCS regulatory issues; presents updated information on the location of CO2 stationary source emissions and the locations and storage potential of various geologic storage sites; and further provides information about the commercialization opportunities for CCS technologies from each RCSP. (Source: NETL, September, 8, 2011)
Access NETL atlas HERE Contact: NETL, www.netl.doe.gov
More Energy Overviews Carbon Sequestration news, CCS news, NETL news,
Date: 2011-09-09
In the UK, the Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA) has launched A Strategy for CCS in the UK and Beyond, setting out a strategy to save 100Mt of CO2 per year and sequester 500Mt per year by 2030 in the UK. The plan outlines the potential of CCS to provide secure, cost-competitive, low carbon electricity as part of the portfolio of low-carbon technologies that will be needed to meet UK climate change targets. The strategy describes the policy and regulatory framework required by industry for a smooth and strong uptake of CCS, which the CCSA says could create a market worth £10bn/year to UK plc by 2025, with more than 50,000 quality jobs by 2030. Key highlights and recommendations include:
More Energy Overviews Carbon Capture and Storage Association news, CCS news,
Date: 2011-09-01
A new experiment being conducted by CarbFix, a joint American and Icelandic venture, will assess the viability of storing carbon pollution underground by artificially creating seams of limestone. The project is slated to begin next month at Hellisheidi in south west Iceland, near Reykjavik Energy's geothermal power stations. If successful, the CO2 pumped into the basalt rock will turn into limestone and be locked away underground forever. The technique involves creating so-called "seltzer water" which reacts with basalt and forces the dissolved CO2 into harmless limestone.
What marks the Icelandic experiment apart from other carbon storage projects is that turning the CO2 into stone means it will not escape back into the atmosphere, as is feared with underground gas storage. The short term goal is to allow geothermal power stations to get rid of the CO2 they bring up from the depths and thereby become truly carbon neutral. Project organizers are cautiously allowing themselves to imagine the wider potential of the technique if the experiment goes well. Huge areas of the world's land sit on top of basalt, meaning the technique could be carried out on a massive scale as a measure in the fight against harmful climate change.
Almost half of the $10 million project is funded by Reykjavik Energy. Additional funding is from two universities, France's National Center of Scientific Research, the US DOE, the EU and from Scandinavian funds. The experiment will last six months to one year, but is only in the first stage. (Source: ICE News, August, 29,2011)
Contact: CarbFix, [email protected],www.or.is/English/Projects/CarbFix/
More Energy Overviews CCS R&D news,
Date: 2011-08-29
General Electric will receive $1,358,524 in DOE funding for two projects aimed towards cost-effective deployment of carbon capture, utilization and storage technologies. The projects are focused on reducing the energy and cost associated with applying currently available carbon capture technologies to existing and new power plants. The funds will go to GEs Global R&D Center in Niskayuna in support of the DOE's goals of charting a path toward finding new ways to reduce carbon emissions, providing clean energy, and reducing GHGs.
GE's Global R&D Center in Niskayuna will use $749,954 to continue research and bench-scale testing of a novel CO2 capture solvent, aminosilicone, developed as part of a previous DOE-funded program. A manufacturing plan for the solvent and price model will be used for optimization, and combined with a rigorous process model and thorough manufacturability analysis for the solvent, will enable a practical technology path to later development at larger scales and commercialization.
The Center will use $608,570 to develop novel polymer membranes that have the potential to meet DOE's CO2 capture goals by permitting CO2 to pass through to produce a concentrated CO2 stream while blocking all other gases. Physical, chemical, and mechanical stability of the materials toward coal flue gas components will be evaluated using exposure and performance tests, and other analyses will be conducted to evaluate the overall performance and impact of the process on the cost of electricity. (Source: DOE, August, 25, 2011)
Contact: GE, www.ge.com
More Energy Overviews General Electric news, Carbon Capture Technology news, CCS R&D news,
Date: 2011-08-25
Masdar today announced its collaboration with RTI International, an independent non-profit research institute, on a high potential carbon capture technology research project set to revolutionize the carbon capture and storage (CCS) space. The project will examine CO2 from coal and gas-fired power station flue gases, targeting a significant cost reduction in CO2 capture over the best available technology today.
The US DOE and Masdar Carbon are co-funding the innovative research in an agreement that sees Masdar provide an additional $700,000 in funding to the DOE's core $3 million budget.
According to Masdar Carbon Associate Director Bader al Lamki, "Masdar Carbon is committed to the innovation and development of clean fossil fuel technologies aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions both locally and globally. We are excited to work with RTI International and the US Department of Energy on this innovative project which has the potential to revolutionize both the economics and technology of CCS practices." (Source; Masdar Carbon, August, 23, 2011)
Contact: Bader Al Lamki, Associate Director of Masdar Carbon, +971 2 653 3333 / 800
More Energy Overviews CCS R&D news,
Date: 2011-08-25
University of Saskatchewan geological engineering researcher Chris Hawkes is putting the squeeze on rocks in a project that will involve laboratory testing and the development of new, powerful computer simulations to find out how to inject CO2 deep underground and make sure it stays there. The project is supported by a $633,000 grant from Carbon Management Canada (CMC), a Network of Centers of Excellence that supports game-changing research to radically reduce carbon emissions from the fossil energy industry.
The innovative multi-institution project is an integral part of finding out whether CCS is a viable option to help deal with CO2 emissions from coal-fired power plants. There are about 50 such plants in Canada, each producing more than a million tonnes of the GHG per year.
While the typical rate of injection in CO2 storage pilot studies is one megatonne (million tonnes) per year or less, it is thought this rate needs to be several times higher. Enhanced simulation tools, such as those developed by this research, will allow engineers to predict and respond to changing conditions at CO2 storage sites where the rate of injection is an expected 10 to 30 megatonnes per year. (Source: University of Sask., Exchange, August, 24, 2011)
Contact: Chris Hawkes, University of Saskatchewan, (306)966-5753, [email protected]
More Energy Overviews Carbon Management Canada news, CCS R&D news,
Date: 2011-08-17
The DOE is giving the University of Kentucky (UK) a $14 million grant earmarked for coal technology and CCS research.According to the UK Center for Applied Energy director Rodney Andrews, the Center is developing a technology that could capture carbon more efficiently and the DOE grant will aid that research. The Center's research focuses around channeling waste heat towards the carbon capture process. The research will use waste heat from the power plant to power the carbon capture process. It aims to remove 90 percent of the carbon dioxide while only increasing electricity costs by 35 percent. The four year project cost is estimated to be $67 million, including $15 million in non-federal cost sharing. The system will be deployed at a power plant in Kentucky.
Andrews reiterated that since much of the nation's carbon capture R&D has stalled or been scuttled because it is hard to justify the expense without a government-mandated price on carbon. Andrews adds that it is critical that universities and other public institutions fill the gap that the private sector has left.(Source: DOE, August, 15, 2011)
Contact: Rodney Andrews, Director, UK Center for Applied Energy, (859) 257-0200, [email protected]
More Energy Overviews Carbon Capture Technology news,
Date: 2011-07-18
Power plants fitted with carbon capture technology will need government support beyond 2020, especially following a sharp drop in European carbon prices, an EU and industry-funded study found on Friday.
The EU's emissions trading scheme (ETS) forces polluting factories and power plants to pay for carbon emissions, in a scheme partly intended to make green technologies competitive. The price of pollution permits EAUs called European Union allowances (EUAs) have fallen 25 percent in the past month, however, following concerns about the pace of European economic recovery. Friday's report said that CCS would need continued support after 2020, to compete with unconstrained fossil fuel power and give energy companies time to fine-tune the technology.
The G20 has called for 20 commercial-scale CCS plants worldwide by 2020. EU states are preparing funding for 10-12 commercial projects by then. CCS has a high capital cost and also inflicts a penalty on power plant efficiency. Pilot projects around the world have been repeatedly delayed or canceled and no commercial-scale plant has yet been built. On Thursday U.S. power producer American Electric Power said that it was freezing plans to commercialize CCS, ending an agreement with the U.S. DOE, citing uncertainties over U.S. climate policy and a weak economy.
Friday's ZEP report, The Costs of CO2 Capture, Transport and Storage, estimated that the cost of cutting emissions using CCS ranged from about €35-90 euros per tonne of CO2, after 2020, depending on the type and price of fossil fuel.
That compares with an EU carbon price of about 12.3 euros on Thursday, meaning at the moment it is much cheaper for coal plants simply to buy emissions permits than to install CCS technology.
The Zero Emissions Platform (ZEP) study reported wide ranges in its cost estimates depending on for example on assumptions about fuel prices. It concluded that, regardless of those assumptions, the cost would be less if projects were coordinated into clusters, transporting CO2 from several sources into a single sink. (Source: ZEP, July, 15, 2011)
Contact: Graeme Sweeney, Chair , Zero Emissions Platform, an EU-industry initiative, +32-(0)2-401-6124 , www.zeroemissionsplatform.eu
More Energy Overviews Zero Emissions Platform news,
Date: 2011-06-29
In Atlantic Canada, CCS Nova Scotia has issued the attached RFP to identify and select an outside independent organization to perform the services described in the RFP Statement of Work (Section 8). The RFP provides information that will allow a proponent to understand the scope of the effort and develop a proposal in the format requested by CCS Nova Scotia. This competitive procurement will be conducted in an effort to maximize the benefit to CCS Nova Scotia, while offering proponents and the community a fair and equitable opportunity to participate.(Source: CCS Nova Scotia, June, 28, 2011)
Access full RPF HERE
Contact: Carl Poirier, P. Eng., Program Manager, Carbon Capture and Storage Research Consortium of Nova Scotia, (902) 492-3312,[email protected]
Date: 2011-05-24
The EU funded ECO2 project to evaluate the potential impact of CO2 leakage from sub-seabed storage sites on marine ecosystems is now underway with 27 project partners from nine countries studying existing sub-seabed Norwegian storage sites as well as natural seafloor seepage to assess the safety of storage sites and the impact of potential CO2 leakage on the marine ecosystem. The project is being coordinated by the Leibniz Institute for Marine Sciences (IFM-GEOMAR) in Kiel, Germany.
The EC considers CCS as a potentially important technology for the reduction of GHG emissions and the mitigation of climate change. Since several European states (U.K., Norway, Netherlands, Italy) aim to store CO2 below the seabed, more work needs to be done to evaluate the safety of these sub-seabed storage sites. The EU has thus allocated €10.5 million to the ECO2 project to evaluate the likelihood of leakage, the possible impacts on marine ecosystems, and the potential economic and legal consequences of leakage from sub-seabed storage sites.
Potential risks of sub-seabed CO2 storage will be assessed comprehensively by a large team of geologists, biologists, chemists, economists, lawyers and social scientists from leading academic institutions and private companies. After four years they will provide not only a comprehensive risk assessment but also guidelines for monitoring and a best environmental practice guide for preparation and management of storage sites. To meet these requirements the scientists will study the two existing Norwegian offshore CO2 storage sites Sleipner and Snohvit as well as the B3 field in the Polish Baltic Sea, which could potentially be used as a storage site. They will reassess whether or not gas is being released at these sites, how it could be transported through the different strata of the seafloor and the water column, and which reactions are involved. Comparative data will be obtained at natural CO2 seeps off Italy (Panarea), Japan (Okinawa Trough), Germany (Salt dome Juist), and Norway (Jan Mayen). Advanced instrumentation for monitoring of storage sites will be tested in the field during more than a dozen research cruises. The likelihood of leakage and the impact on marine organisms and ecosystems will be evaluated not only in the field but also by laboratory experiments and numerical modeling.
A dedicated working group will study how the public is responding to offshore CO2 storage projects. The project results will be continually communicated to the general public and a stakeholder dialogue will be implemented with representatives from environmental NGO's, EU administrations, and operators of CCS projects. The first expeditions will already be conducted during spring and summer 2011 to monitor the seafloor and evaluate the safety of the storage sites located in the North Sea and Barents Sea. (Source: Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences, May, 20, 2011)
Contact: Leibniz Institute for Marine Sciences (IFM-GEOMAR), www.ifm-geomar.de
More Energy Overviews Seabed Carbon Storage news,
Date: 2011-05-24
The Fundacion Ciudad de la Energia (CIUDEN), a Spanish state foundation created in 2006 for CCS R&D has launched a new Project to develop biomonitoring strategies of potential CO2 leakages through testing biogeochemical effects of CO2 injection in soils. The test site for CO2 injection in soils (known by its Spanish acronym as PISCO2) consists of 18 cells of concrete excavated in the ground; each of them, with an area of 16 square meters and a depth of 2.5 meters. These cells will be filled with soils from different areas of Spain with potential CO2 storage capability, including Hontomin (Burgos), where CIUDEN's CO2 Storage Technological Development Plant is under development.
The facility will test how small CO2 diffuse leakages can influence the vegetation, microorganisms, lichens and soils and aims to find useful, cheap and ecological bio-indicators of any CO2 concentration variation in wide areas. It will also serve as a laboratory for agricultural tests of the beneficial effects of low CO2 emissions. In addition, the installation will be a tool to test and calibrate measurement instruments such as accumulation chambers, sensors, etc.
Construction began in April 2011 and the project is slated to be fully operational in October 2011.
The research team is comprised of a multidisciplinary group of biologists, chemists, geologists and other collaborators.
The EU has funded the project, the first research phase of which is estimated at €1 million.
The results obtained will be applied to CIUDEN's CO2 Storage site in Hontomin, Burgos (Spain) which is planned to be completely operational in early 2013. (Source: CIUDEN, May, 2011)
Contact: CIUDEN, + 34 987 456 323, www.ciuden.es
More Energy Overviews CIUDEN news, CCS R&D news,
Date: 2011-04-25
On April 7th, a group of 24 Energy Ministers from countries collectively responsible for over 80% of global energy consumption met in Abu Dhabi for the 2nd Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) and agreed to increase efforts to deploy CCS on a commercial scale worldwide. In addition to this general agreement, the governments of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Republic of Korea, South Africa, the UAE, U.S. and the UK agreed to initiate one or more concrete actions on CCS before the next Clean Energy Ministerial, which will be hosted next year in London. This announcement may provide a major boost to CCS technology, if countries can find a way to finance such projects.
The agreement came in the wake of recommendations set forth by the Carbon Capture Use and Storage (CCUS) Action Group—led by the UK and Australia and composed of 13 governments and 14 international institutions, including WRI - which included the need to identify and advance appropriate funding mechanisms to support the demonstration of large-scale CCS projects in developing economies.
In its 2009 CCS Roadmap, the International Energy Agency estimated that 3,400 CCS projects will be needed by 2050 to meet the global climate change mitigation challenge and two-thirds of them will need to be implemented in developing countries. However, CCS development in a non-OECD context has been slow to start, especially when it comes to large-scale (greater than 1 million tons of CO2 per year) demonstration projects. One of the main barriers to CCS demonstrations in developing countries is their significant cost. Accordingly, WRI sees the need to develop effective financing strategies to enable the implementation of CCS demo projects worldwide.
Progress on all three fronts will be needed for effective implementation of CCS projects in developing countries in order to move forward on answering the key questions in CCS development and deployment. It is unlikely that any of these three channels will on their own have the necessary scale and delivery conditions to fund CCS demonstrations. However, by complementing each other, there is a good chance that enough momentum can be generated to get CCS demonstrations up and running globally. In turn, the learning generated from these demonstrations will enable non-OECD countries to better gauge the potential of the technology for their local context.(Source: WRI, April, 21,2011)
Date: 2011-04-19
On behalf of the Expert Group on Clean Fossil Energy (EGCFE), the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Secretariat has issued an RFP on Permitting Issues Related to Carbon Capture and Storage for Coal-Based Power Plant Projects in Developing APEC Economies. The project will review current activities regarding legal, regulatory, and permitting aspects of CCS implementation in national administrations and international bodies, the latter including OECD's International Energy Agency, the recently formed Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute (GCCSI), and other relevant international and regional organizations and forums.
Responses to this RFP are due by 5:00 PM (Singapore time) on May 6, 2011. Selection of the consultant is anticipated by May 2011. The detailed draft outline for a final report should be completed and submitted to the project steering committee for review by the end of June 2011. The consultant should complete the draft final report by mid-October 2011, and finalize it for publication by APEC following EGCFE project steering committee approval, by end-November 2011. Presentation of the results to an EGCFE Clean Fossil Energy Technical and Policy Seminar will depend on the Seminar dates, which will be known sufficiently in advance. The deadline for project completion and disbursement of APEC funds is December 31, 2011.(Source: The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), April, 18, 2011)
Request for Proposals HERE
More Energy Overviews CCS R&D news,
Date: 2011-04-12
In the UK, scientists, using the same technology used to date the Easter Island monoliths, are studying sandstone outcroppings at Frogsmouth Quarry, Runcorn, for a better understanding of CCS. They hope to determine how the rocks would behave having CO2 pumped into them, effectively removing the GHG from the atmosphere.
"Large outcrops of the particular sandstone exposed at Runcorn are surprisingly rare, which is why the excellent outcrop at Frogsmouth was chosen as part of the study. The red sandstone at the quarry also occurs under the East Irish and North Seas which makes the site so valuable to researchers as these are areas we could look to pump CO2 into in the future." said Ed Hough, a geologist with the British Geological Survey.
Quarry faces have been scanned with a laser which creates a 3D "point cloud" of the quarry as a series of millions of data points. The same laser was used to date the heads on Easter Island.
Information about how the rock allows gas to flow through it will be obtained from laboratory testing. (Source: SouthportVisitor, April, 11, 2011)
Contact: Ed Hough, British Geological Survey, + 44 0115 9363016, www.bgs.ac.uk
Date: 2011-03-28
Two new patented sorbents used for CO2 capture from coal-based power plants have moved closer to commercialization as a result of a licensing agreement between the Office of Fossil Energy's (FE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and ADA Environmental Solutions (ADA-ES).
The nonexclusive agreement facilitates negotiations on intellectual property rights, protects proprietary information, and grants non-exclusive licensing of the new technology. Under federal regulations, NETL is authorized to obtain, maintain, and own patent protection for its inventions, including those funded through collaborative agreements. By granting a commercial license for these sorbents, NETL can now convey and control the right to make, use, and sell the products and services claimed in the patent, thereby assuring strategic commercialization throughout the coal-fired power plant industry.
FE's comprehensive CCS research includes developing new materials that can capture and release CO2 at reasonable energy and operating costs. Traditional solvent-based systems consume too much energy, either in operation or during regeneration of the solvents. So FE is developing and testing a wide range of approaches.
A promising solution for affordable CO2 capture is "dry scrubbing" or chemical absorption of CO2 using a solid regenerable sorbent. The most important advantage of solid sorbents is the potential to significantly reduce the amount of energy required to capture and release CO2. These range from alkaline earth metal oxides or hydroxides that can absorb CO2 at temperatures that typically range from about 100-300 degrees C to impregnating a porous substrate with one of the liquid solvents. In all of these, the sorbent can be regenerated in a subsequent step, after the CO2 is removed. The efficiencies of these processes are highly dependent on the optimum temperature and pressure conditions at which absorption and regeneration are performed. In the case of high-performance sorbents, both of these mechanistic steps occur with the lowest possible energetic and operational costs. (Source: NETL, March 23, 2011) Contact: Mark McKinnies, CFO, ADA-ES, (303) 734-1727, www.adaes.com;www.netl.doe.gov
More Energy Overviews NETL news, CCS Technology news, Carbon Storage R&D news, ADA Environmental Solutions news,
Date: 2011-03-15
In their recent report, a consortium of Scottish Government, researchers, and industries claim that carbon capture presents vast employment, economic and environmental benefits in the UK. Their research calculates that rock more than half a mile beneath Scotland's Moray Firth could store at least 15 years, and potentially a century's worth of CO2 output from Scottish power stations.
The research group Scottish Carbon Capture and Storage (SCCS), called the findings an exciting landmark in the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS).
SCCS research, which was funded by the Scottish Government and businesses in the energy sector, showed that CCS could create 13,000 jobs by 2020 and another 14,000 jobs elsewhere in the UK, spread across a range of skills. Once developed, the UK's share of worldwide CCS could be worth more than £10 billion a year, by 2025. (Source: SCCS Research, March 14,2011)
Access Progressing Scotland's CO2 storage opportunities here
Contact: Stuart Simmons, Scottish Carbon Capture & Storage, [email protected], www.sccs.org.uk
More Energy Overviews UK CCS news, Scottish Carbon Capture and Storage news,
Date: 2011-02-28
The Standards Council of Canada (SCC) has submitted a proposal to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) addressing carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) activities including materials, equipment, environmental planning and management, risk management, quantification and verification activity within the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
Although industry and governments worldwide are calling for the initiation of commercial-scale CCS projects, widespread commercial CCS implementation is slow in coming due, in part, to cost, health and safety concerns, the lack of carbon pricing and unclear regulations and standards.
CCS touches on the fields of oil and gas, groundwater quality, GHG management, air quality, geology, electricity generation, and risk management. Because CCS is a relatively new technological field, the SCC proposal states, few countries have developed the necessary framework for CCS regulations and standards. International standardization would provide a foundation that could be used to facilitate widespread implementation.
ANSI invites all interested stakeholders to submit comments on the proposal by Friday, March 25, 2011. All input received will be compiled and considered in the development of a recommended ANSI position, which will then be presented to the ANSI ISO Council (AIC) for formal review. (Source: ANSI, February 22, 2011)
Access proposal here
Contact: All interested parties are invited to submit comments on the proposal, including whether ANSI should support and co-sponsor the new field of activity, to Steven Cornish, ANSI Senior Director for International Policy, [email protected] by close of business on Friday, March 25, 2011.
More Energy Overviews CCS Implementation news, Carbon Pricing news, CCS Technology news,
Date: 2011-02-22
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) launched its Carbon Sequestration Program in 1997 and, consistent with Administration and Congressional priorities, CCS continues to be a key element of DOE's R&D portfolio. Implemented by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) within DOE's Office of Fossil Energy (FE), the program is playing a lead role in CCS technology development and has made significant advances in the development of a broad range of effective and economically viable technologies. The Carbon Sequestration Technology Program Plan builds upon the recently published CCS RD&D Roadmap (attached below) (http://www.netl.doe.gov/technologies/ carbon_seq/refshelf/CCSRoadmap.pdf) and provides additional details on specific research challenges and pathways that will need to be addressed through assessment and technology development.
This publication also describes two complimentary DOE/ NETL demonstration programs: the Clean Coal Power Initiative and Industrial Carbon Sequestration Program. The Carbon Sequestration Program's objective is to develop and advance CCS technologies that will be ready for widespread commercial deployment by 2020. To accomplish widespread deployment, the following program goals have been established:
More Energy Overviews CCS news, NETL news, Department of Energy news,
Date: 2011-02-08
Under pressure from proponents touting carbon sequestration as a tool for increasing oil production, Mississippi lawmakers are considering Bills ( 1098 and 2723) that would allow and regulate underground CO2 storage.
The Mississippi State Senate has passed a bill setting up a regulatory structure; the House version awaits a vote by the full chamber next week. Both bills give the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality primary authority over the process. The state Oil and Gas Board is the current watchdog on the use of carbon dioxide to enhance oil recovery.
Texas-based oil producers, Plano-based Denbury Resources, Inc., and Tellus Operating Group, LLC, of Ridgeland, support the state bills. Both companies use CO2 injection to boost oil wells production.
(Source: AP, February, 4, 2011)
More Energy Overviews Carbon Capture & Sequestration news, news,
Date: 2011-01-18
The security of CO2 underground storage is one of the areas a planned University of Calgary research facility will address on a donated patch of land southwest of Calgary, Alberta.
The university is eyeing a parcel outside Priddis for the home of the what geophysics professor Don Lawton says would be the country's first facility dedicated to CCS monitoring and training.
The Government of Alberta has pledged $2 billion towards four commercial scale CCS projects scheduled to start trapping industrial greenhouse gases by 2015. CCS is a major part of both the federal and Alberta governments' climate change strategies, but concerns about the safety of large-scale projects remain. The likelihood of a fast, catastrophic release is considered very small, even a slow leak could negate any benefits of carbon capture.
If the planned Priddis research facility goes ahead, the site will host a small-scale project for student and industry training, technology testing, and public education. It will also be used to develop CCS monitoring technology. (Source: University of Calgary, Calgary herald, January 16,2011)
Contact: Don Lawton, University of Calgary, (403) 220-5718, [email protected], www.ucalgary.ca
More Energy Overviews University of Calgary news, CCS news,
Date: 2011-01-14
Alberta Energy Minister Ron Liepert is standing by the province's $2-billion CDN ($2.02 billion US) commitment to develop technology to store carbon emissions, despite allegations of carbon dioxide contamination at a Saskatchewan farm as profiled in yesterday's edition. Liepert compared the government's substantial investment in carbon capture and storage (CCS) to the early development of the oilsands industry, which involved government-funded research decades ago.
Alberta Energy intends to begin drafting CCS regulations this year, including rules targeting leakage monitoring. Four commercial-scale projects are expected to begin injecting CO2 underground in Alberta by 2015. This follows the passage late in 2010, of Bill 24, the Carbon Capture and Storage Statutes Amendment Act, 2010, as indicated in previous editions of this publication, to address the potential long-term liability of storing carbon underground. (Source: Calgary Herald, January 12, 2011)
Contact: Ron Liepert, Energy Minister, Province of Alberta, (780) 427-3740, [email protected], www.energy.alberta.ca.
More Energy Overviews oilsands news,
Date: 2011-01-12
A study evaluating the economics of replacing older coal plants with carbon capture and storage (CCS) found integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant with pre-combustion CO2 capture offered the best profit for plant operators.
The study, An economic and environmental assessment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) power plants: a case study for the City of Kiel published by the Journal of Environmental Planning and Management assessed three different types of coal fired power stations power plant, all with CCS, for their environmental impact and profitability. Three designs were proposed as replacements for the existing coal-fired power station in Kiel, Germany: an IGCC plant with pre-combustion carbon capture; a pulverized coal (PC) plant with post-combustion carbon capture; and a pulverized coal plant with oxyfuel combustion carbon capture.
The profitability of alternative coal fired power plants with CCS was assessed using three scenarios of possible future CO2 permit prices, fuel prices and power revenues to plant owners. Results of the profit analysis suggest an IGCC plant with pre-combustion capture would be the best option in terms of economic returns for plant owners. An IGCC plant with CCS requires the least amount of fuel to operate the capture unit and is therefore more efficient than the other two types of plant. Oxyfuel technology is the most costly option for carbon capture.
A life cycle analysis comparison of the environmental impact of the different power plants found that although CCS considerably reduces CO2 emissions from all plants, the reduction is not as great as estimated by other studies, which suggest reductions of up to 99 per cent. These figures typically refer to plant emissions only and do not take into account the increased energy demand of using CCS.
For plants retrofitted with CCS units, the plant life cycle emissions increase the longer the delay in fitting the CCS systems.(Source: Powergen, January 11,2011)
Contact: Access An economic and environmental assessment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) power plants: a case study for the City of Kiel Here
More Energy Overviews Carbon Capture and Storage news,
Date: 2010-12-08
After years of give-and-take, the climate negotiation's Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) has cleared a concrete proposal for review at the environment ministerial level in Cancun. The proposal could make CO2 capture and storage (CCS) a part of the CDM system.
The CDM is a flexible mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol that allows industrialized countries to invest in emissions reducing projects in developing countries, and have these projects count toward their own emissions reduction obligations under the Kyoto Protocol.
The Bellona Foundation, an internationl environmental Norwegian-based NGO is a proponent of CO2 capture and storage and regards CDM credits as one of several tools that can promote the climate solution that CCS represents.
"In order for developing countries to grow out of poverty, they need large amounts of energy, and in a transitional period they too will be forced to use fossil fuels. Then the emissions from the fossil sources should be captured and stored safely", said Bellona Chairman Frisvold. (Source: The Bellona Foundation, December 6, 2010)
Contact: Paal Frisvold ,Chairman , Bellona, 47 23 23 46 00 , [email protected], www.bellona.org
More Energy Overviews CDM news, CCS news, Cancun news,
Date: 2010-11-29
A technical committee of almost three dozen Canadian and American experts is reviewing the draft of the world's first standard for the geologic storage of carbon dioxide. When completed, the new standard will provide essential guidelines for regulators, industry and others around the world involved with scientific and commercial carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects.
CSA Standards, a leading developer of standards, codes and personnel certification programs since 1919, and the International Performance Assessment Centre for Geologic Storage of Carbon Dioxide (IPAC-CO2 Research Inc.) began working on the new standards in June, 2010. The new standard will be a bi-national standard for both Canada and the United States. It is intended that the new standard will also be used as a basis for international standards through the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
The new standard will focus primarily on the long-term deep underground geologic storage of CO2.
Large-scale international CCS research pilot projects are being tested and studied in various areas of Canada and the world. Significant projects have been underway in Saskatchewan, Norway and Algeria for several years. A top priority for CCS research is the confirmation that geologic CO2 storage is safe, reliable and an environmentally beneficial practice for the long-term. (Source: New technology Magazine, November 26,2010)
Contact: Carmen Dybwad, CEO of IPAC-CO2, (306) 585-5228, [email protected]
More Energy Overviews Carbon Storage Technology news, Battelle news,
Date: 2010-11-04
The Global CCS Institute has issued a paper that seeks to define and explain the complexities surrounding carbon capture and storage ready policy, which helps governments prepare utilities for a shift to a low carbon economy and clarifies future costs for business. Such policies also pave the way for new power plants to be retrofitted with CCS technology when commercially viable. "CCS Ready policy needs to be rigorous enough to ensure that retrofit takes place while also being also being open enough to future capture technology advances," says Global CCS Institute CEO Nick Otter. "Early stage planning for storage is also an important step that underpins what it really means to be CCS Ready." (Source: Carbon Capture Journal, November 3, 2010) Contact: Nick Otter, CEO, Global CCS Institute, +61 (2) 6175-5300, [email protected], www.globalccsinstitute.com.
More Energy Overviews Global CCS Institute news,
Date: 2010-10-21
Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg has reaffirmed his commitment to big investments in CCS, and says he doesn't regret the 2007 speech in which he projected that CCS advancement would be "Norway's moon landing". Since the speech, many aspects of his plan have been delayed and prices have skyrocketed. Nevertheless, Stoltenberg has pledged $1.02 billion to a CCS research center on his country's west coast. (Source: Reuters, October 19, 2010) Contact: Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, Government of Norway, +47 22 24 40 00, www.regjeringen.no.
Date: 2010-10-19
ICO2N is the Integrated CO2 Network, a group of Canadian companies representing multiple industries, including coal and the oil sands, committed to advancing the deployment of Carbon Capture and Storage in Canada.
For five years the group has been working to accelerate CCS deployment as a means of reducing CO2 emissions, and fundamentally transforming the way Canada can develop and use its fossil fuel energy resources in a sustainable way. ICO2N has completed extensive technical, economic and policy analysis on CCS, and developed its own unique economic model of large-scale CCS in Canada.
ICO2N works with multiple levels of government, industry partners, academia and environmental organizations to advance CCS as a tool to ensure a clean and secure energy future, and is an advocate for the development of integrated CCS infrastructure.
ICO2N has recently launched a new website as a CCS resource for all interest levels. It provides basic information and diagrams explaining the process, as well as detailed information for anyone wanting more. The site includes information about how CCS works, CCS economics, CCS potential in Canada and CCS internationally. It also includes copies of helpful brochures and reports, links to some of the best CCS videos, and a library of the best global CCS resources.
Companies interested in becoming a member of ICO2N can visit the Website or contact Eric Beynon.
Contact: Eric Beynon, Director Strategy and Policy, ICO2N, (403) 296-6367, [email protected], www.ico2n.com
More Energy Overviews ICO2N news,
Date: 2010-10-07
Australia's Linc Energy has signed an MOU with German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) establishing a framework for an exclusive working relationship for potential Underground Coal Gasification and CCS projects. The agreement will have GFZ work on combined UCG and CCS exclusively for Linc Energy over the next three years. GFZ will also conduct research to confirm the extent of CO2 storage available in remaining UCG cavities once the UCG process is complete. Linc Energy has agreed to contribute €24,000 ($33,400) per quarter towards the UCG-CCS research and will retain ownership of all intellectual property developed. (Source: Linc Energy, Contact: Anton Rohner, Chief Financial Officer, Linc Energy, +61 (7) 3229 0800, [email protected], www.lincenergy.com.au; Franz Ossing, Public Relations, GFZ German Centre for Research Sciences, +49 (331) 288-1040, [email protected], www.gfz-potsdam.de.
More Energy Overviews CCS Technologies news, Linc Energy news, GFZ news,
Date: 2010-08-16
South Carolina's Clemson University is receiving $450,000 from the US Department of Energy to study the underground storage of carbon dioxide. The funding will be granted over three years, and used to advance ways to safely store carbon dioxide in formations like depleted oil reservoirs and unmineable coal seams. The university's share of the project amounts to $112,292. (Source: AP, August 12, 2010) Contact: Chemical and Biological Engineering, Clemson University, (864) 656-3056, www.clemson.edu/ces/departments/chbe/
More Energy Overviews Carbon Storage news,
Date: 2010-07-13
Scottish and Southern Energy may revive a carbon capture and storage project at a gas-fired power plant in northeast England. The project at the Peterhead plant was shelved in 2007 while the UK government determined how it would divvy up its CCS research funding -- a program that so far has funded just two projects rather than the planned four (see our archives for details). The revival likely means that a recently-introduced plan to build a coal-fired power plant will be shelved. (Source: Press and Journal, July 12, 2010) Contact: Sally Fairbain, Investor Relations, Scottish and Southern Energy, +44 (0) 173 845-6491, www.scottish-southern.co.uk
More Energy Overviews CCS news, Carbon Capture Storage news,
Date: 2010-06-14
Norway's CCS development center, Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM), has gained a new investor: South African energy and chemical company Sasol. Sasol now owns 2.44% of the $1 billion initiative, which will afford it two seats on the TCM technical committee, a deputy seat on the TCM's governing body and involvement in the various operations. Sasol's coal-to-liquids process produces a concentrated stream of CO2 that can be easily captured.
Sasol is investigating the full spectrum of CCS opportunities available to enable the most optimal application and deployment of the technology," says Sasol CO2 Manager Jaco Liebenberg. The current cost and efficiency losses of CCS are two of the hurdles that must be overcome to enable large-scale implementation of the technology." (Source: Engineering News, June 12, 2010)
Contact: Jacobus Loock, Manager, Investor Relations, Sasol, +27 11 11 441 3321, [email protected] , www.sasol.com; Terje Riis-Johansen, Petroleum and Energy Minister, Norway, +47 (22) 24-6100, [email protected], www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/oed.html?id=750;
Date: 2010-06-01
With several projects under development, and a push for academic leadership in the American CCS industry, Wyoming lawmakers are developing a comprehensive set of legal regulations that will make clear the rights and responsibilities of all carbon sequestration stakeholders. The proposed rules spell out the standards that must be met to obtain a sequestration permit, including proof that a pore space can hold the CO2, and that comprehensive steps will be taken to monitor it. The draft rules draw from EPA regulations, groundwater protection research and discussions, and existing regulations for hazardous waste wells. According to the proposals, space underground is owned by the same person or corporation that owns the surface rights, with one exception: Mineral rights trump all.
Several coal-producing states are looking closely at Wyoming, and may adopt similar laws if the Equality State does it well. (Source: Clean Technica, May 29, 2010)
Contact: Dave Freudenthal, Governor, State of Wyoming, (307) 777-7434, governor.wy.gov.