News & events

News archive

2010

29 December

West Texas Plant Receives Air Quality Permit

Summit Power Group’s $2.2 billion integrated gasification combined cycle plant (net 214 MW) in West Texas has received approval from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for an air-quality permit, a major regulatory hurdle. The plant is to be built in Penwell and should start to operate in late 2014. Captured CO₂ will be used for enhanced oil recovery. View the story.

24 December

US EPA Creates Timetable to Curb Emissions

The U.S. Environmental protection Agency has announced a timetable to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plant and oil refineries. Although initial regulations that addressed pollution earlier this year only applied to new facilities and expansions, the announcement from the EPA would apply to all power plants and refineries, which account for 40% of US GHG emissions. Final standards would come out in November 2012. It is unknown what the standards would require or the amount of GHG reductions this could result in. View the story.

21 December

UK Demonstration Programme Update

The Office of Carbon Capture and Storage in the Department of Energy and Climate Change has published further information and guidance to assist potential applicants to the UK CCS demonstration programme. View the guidance.

21 December

Bellona: Greece Could Save Billions with CCS

Bellona has created its first national report on carbon storage for Greece and has found that Greece has good storage potential for greenhouse gases in depleted oilfields in the Aegean Sea. It has estimated that Greece could spend a cumulative €50.6 billion to capture and store 28.7 million tonnes of CO₂ a year by 2050. This is more than half Greece’s current emissions. Not using CCS could cost Greece €16 billion more through penalties for emitting CO₂ into the atmosphere. View the story.

21 December

MHI Licenses CO₂ Recovery Tech for Fertilizers

A license agreement has been signed for CO₂ recovery by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and National Fertilizers Limited in India. The CO₂ recovery plant is due for completion in June 2012 and can capture 450 metric tons of CO₂ per day. It will be used to increase urea production at its Vijaipur Plant in Madhya Pradesh State. View the story.

21 December

Alstom Process Selected for CCS Plant in Romania

Alstom’s Chilled Ammonia Process (CAP) is to be used to develop a CCS demo plant in Turceni power plant by Romania’s Institute for Studies and Power Engineering. The capture plant will be integrated into Unit 6 at the Turceni power plant and retrofitted to a capacity of 300 MW. View the story.

21 December

NER300 Call for Proposals Update

Additional Q&A documents on the NER300 programme have been released on to the NER300 webpage. Any outstanding questions will be addressed in further Q&A documents, which should be published in the New Year. View the story.

20 December

ZeroGen CCS Plant Cancelled

The Queensland government has decided to cancel a prototype power plant that was to be in operation by 2015, citing costs. A feasibility study on the ZeroGen proposal found that costs would have reached beyond the $4.3 billion budget. However, Premier Anna Bligh stated ‘What the research shows us is that this technology works”. ZeroGen was the most advanced of four “flagship” CCS projects funded by the federal government, states and coal industry. View the story.

20 December

FutureGen: Four Communities Shortlisted

FutureGen Alliance has named Douglas, Morgan, Christian and Fayette counties as the final four communities that could host the storage site for the $1.2 billion project. View the story.

17 December

China and Australia CCS Feasibility Study

Australia and China are to cooperate on a feasibility study for a commercial scale CCS project in China. This builds on the CSIRO (Australia) and China Huaneng collaboration on the Gaobeidian post combustion capture project, China’s first demonstration capture project. Up to A$12 million from the Australia China Joint Coordination Group on Clean Coal Technology will be made available for this study. View the story.

17 December

Outotec Commissions CO₂ Removal Plant

A CO₂ removal pilot plant has been commissioned by Outotec for its R&D centre in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The pilot plant applies BASF’s licensed aMDEA™ technology for acid gas removal to remove CO₂ and H2S from metallurgical process gases. It also features integrated gas cleaning steps to treat gases rich in dust and tars. The gases can then be removed and be used in other processes or stored underground as part of a CCS process. View the story.

17 December

Basin Electric Power Cancels capture project

Basin Electric Power Cooperative has indefinitely tabled a coal carbon capture project at Antelope Valley Station near Beulah. Directors have decided to shelve the project until it becomes more economically viable. The decision was made due to regulatory uncertainty and partly due to results from an engineering and design study. However, Basin’s general manager feels that it was time and money well spent, saying “We now know the required infrastructure, the cost, and the integration and operational challenges that will be required to continue developing a carbon capture technology.” View the story.

16 December

New Consultations to Reform Electricity Market

Two consultations have been released today, marking the biggest shake-up of the UK energy market in 25 years. The Department of Energy & Climate Change has released a consultation on Electricity Market Reform. HM Treasury has released a consultation on Carbon price support. These consultations have been released to reform the aim to move the UK to the ‘front of the global race for electricity investment, driving the growth of clean energy industries in the UK, and ensuring the best possible deal for consumers.’
View the story. View the DECC press release. View the EMR Consultation and the Carbon Price Support Consultation.

15 December

New CCS Consortium Formed by Ayrshire Power

Ayrshire Power has announced the formation of a consortium together with Doosan Power Systems, Fluor Limited and Petrofac, to develop its plans for the CCS elements of its proposed power station at Hunterston, Scotland. The facility would burn coal and biomass, with strict emissions controls. View the story.

10 December

DECC CCS Consultation on Third Party Access Provisions and Infrastructure

DECC have released a Consultation on Third Party Access Provisions of CCS Directive & Call for Evidence on Long Term Development of CCS Infrastructure. The website states:
“This consultation asks for views on two issues likely to affect future development of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) infrastructure (carbon dioxide pipelines and storage sites) – third party access and how best to organise long-term investment.
The first part sets out proposals for transposing third party access requirements of an EU CCS Directive. We are asking for views on our proposed approach, draft Regulations and the Impact Assessment.
The second part asks for views on what, if any, additional steps Government might take to develop the investment framework for CCS infrastructure.” View the consultation.

10 December

ExxonMobil Expands CCS Plant

ExxonMobil have announced the completion of an expansion to their CO₂ capture plant, the largest in the world, located in Wyoming. The $86 million expansion includes the installation of compressors to capture 50% more CO₂ for potential use in enhanced oil recovery and other industrial uses. The expansion will provide the capacity to capture an amount of CO₂ equivalent the amount emitted by more than 1.5 million cars. View the story.

10 December

SaskPower Defers Decision on Capture Project

SaskPower is deferring its decision on its proposed $1.2 billion capture project at Boundary Dam power station in Estevan. The decision has been delayed until the utility receives new federal regulations on thermal generation station emissions control. View the story.

9 December

Powerfuel Calls in Administrators

KPMG, the administrator for Powerfuel Plc, has said that it may sell Powerfuel’s mining and power businesses within three months. Powerfuel have permission to build a power station at Hatfield and had won 180 million Euros of European Union funding for CCS demonstration. View the story.

9 December

DECC publish report on CO₂ Storage and EOR

The Department of Energy & Climate Change has published a report, undertaken by Advanced Resources International (ARI), entitled ‘OPTIMIZATION OF CO₂ STORAGE IN CO₂ ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY PROJECTS’, examining the current understanding of the “carbon footprint” of incremental oil produced by CO₂ injection Enhanced Oil Recover. It finds that the footprint is usually significantly lower than for conventional oil, due to the CO₂ stored in the reservoir once the EOR project ceases. Some circumstances also allow more CO₂ to be stored that the incremental oil contained, leading to EOR having an environmental benefit compared to conventional oil production. View the report.

9 December

DECC Guidance on EU NER300 Competition Released

The Office of Carbon Capture and Storage in the Department of Energy & Climate Change has published its guidance on the EU NER 300 competition. View the story. View the guidance. The European Commission also published an FAQ on the NER300 Call for Proposals for renewables and CCS. View the FAQs.

9 December

UK Energy Bill Released

The UK Parliament has published the Energy Bill, which sets out for the first time how the Green Deal will work. It also covers areas such as measures to enable investment in low carbon electricity generation, improve energy security and give companies improved access to upstream oil and gas infrastructure. DECC have also published a number of impact assessments (available from second link below). The Second Reading is scheduled for 22 December 2010. View the press release. View the Bill.

7 December

CCC report on Fourth Carbon Budget

The UK Committee on Climate Change has released its fourth carbon budget, which recommends a 60% emission reduction target by 2030. It welcomes the continued commitment of the Coalition to support four CCS projects. View the story. View the report.

7 December

Scotland to Develop CCS Toolkit
The Scottish CCS Centre in Edinburgh, supported by the Scottish Government and Scottish European Green Energy Centre, is to design a blueprint to ensure that CCS can be implemented effectively around the world. It is hoped that the toolkit will help nations test the strength of regulations and the permitting process, build knowledge and test public engagement to ensure the CCS is safely rolled out. The tool kit will be funded by a £50,000 budget from the Global CCS Institute. View the story.

6 December

Chiyoda wins EPC CCS Contract

Japan’s leading engineering and construction firm, Chiyoda Corporation, has been awarded an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract for CO₂ separation and recovery plant. This is for the coal Energy Application demonstration facilities of the Gas, Liquid and Electricity (EAGLE) project at the J-Power Wakamatsu Research Institute. Chiyoda will use this opportunity to enhance and develop its clean coal technology. Construction will start on the site by the start of the fiscal year 2011 and demonstration will begin 2012. View the story.

6 December

Positive Developments on CCS in Cancun

The COP 16 climate change talks in Mexico have seen a positive step for CCS. The Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) has cleared a proposal to make CCS part of the Clean Development Mechanism, which allows industrialised countries to invest in emission reduction projects in developing countries. View the story.

3 December

GreenGen Plant to Operate by End of 2011

China’s GreenGen Co. Ltd is to put into operation a 250 MW IGCC plant in Tianjin Municipality by the end of 2011. The company will install a CCS facility at the plant, which will be more efficient that typical thermal power plants. View the story.

3 December

ICIS Heren Quotes CEO of CCSA

The chief executive of the CCSA, Jeff Chapman, has been quoted in an article by ICIS Heren on the Emissions Performance Standard, the subject of a report by the Energy and Climate Change Committee last Thursday. View the story.

2 December

CO₂ Capture Begins in Queensland

The first CO₂ Capture plant in Queensland has been launched by the Minister for Natural Resources, Mines and Energy during Australia's inaugural National CCS Week. The A$5 million PCC demonstration project has received funding from the Australian Government as part of the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate program. The pilot plant, collaboration between CSIRO and Tarong Energy, is designed to capture around 1000 tonnes of CO₂ per annum. View the story.

1 December

Alberta Passes Bill 24, The Carbon Capture and Storage Statutes Amendment Act 2010

The CCS Statutes Amendment Act 2010 was passed in the Alberta legislature on 1 December 2010. This legislation supports the deployment of four commercial CCS projects under Alberta’s $2 billion funding program. It clarifies pore space ownership and long term liabilities for injected CO₂. It also establishes a fund financed by CCS operators for ongoing monitoring costs. View the story. View the Bill.

30 November

Global CCS Institute Blog for CCS Week, Australia

The GCCSI has launched a blog for CCS week in Australia with pieces by members of various CCS organisations, including Judith from the CCSA. View the blog.

30 November

JEC Receives National Grid Contracts

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. have announced the receipt of three framework contracts from National Grid to provide services over three years to support their investment programs in gas transmission/distribution, CCS and property. View the story.

30 November

Powerfuel and Calix announce Joint Venture

Powerfuel Power Ltd and Calix Limited have formed a joint venture to take Endex Carbon Capture technology to large power stations, initially in the British Isles, Germany and Poland. The Joint Venture intends to launch its product range by competing in the UK CCS competition and EU NER300 Call with an Endex equipped gas fired NGCC Plant. Powerfuel and Calix plan to have a 10 MWt Endex demo plant running in 2011. View the press release.

30 November

Shenhua Plan to Store Carbon in 2011

China’s Shenhua Group will begin storing CO₂ from their coal-to-liquids pilot CCS plant in Inner Mongolia in January 2011. View the story.

30 November

Australian Govt Releases Clean Power Discussion Paper

The Australian Government is inviting submissions from stakeholders on the Government’s policy to require new power stations to meet emissions standards and be carbon capture ready. The national emissions standard is intended to replace the different approaches taken by individual states and territories. View the story.

30 November

Masdar has announced plans to award a contract in 2011 to build a CO₂ pipeline network

500 kilometres of it will be able to carry up to 30 million tonnes of CO₂ per year by 2030.It is expected that the first 50 kilometres of the pipeline will be ready by 2014 for the first large-scale CCS project in Abu Dhabi, which aims to capture 800,000 tonnes per year from the Emirates Steel Industries PJSC and store in depleted oilfields. The pipeline engineering design has been completed earlier this year and Mustang Engineering is carrying out the FEED study for the pipeline. View the story.

29 November

$5M for Project Pioneer, Alberta

The Global CCS Institute has given $5 million to Project Pioneer, operated by TransAlta Corporation in Alberta. This will go towards the dissemination of research and results
from Project Pioneer and allow TransAlta to access research by international members of the Institute. This announcement comes as the GCCSI launches National CCS Week in Melbourne today. View the story.

29 November

Aker Clean Carbon wins CCS Contract

Aker Clean Carbon has won a contract to study full size retrofitting and integration of its CCS technology for EnBW’s new supercritical 912MWel gross, coal fired power plant in Karlsruhe Germany. View the story.

28 November

Kuwait’s First CO₂ Capture Project

Equate Petrochemical Co., a venture by Dow Chemical and Petrochemical Industries of Kuwait, plan to capture 450 tons of CO₂ daily from existing facilities starting 2012. It is hoped that this project will involve claiming credits as part of the UN Clean Development Mechanism. The CO₂ will be supplied to Greencarbon Co., for use in downstream industries such as beverages and food. The capture project will cost $65 million. View the story.

24 November

ECC Committee Launches EMR Call for Evidence

The Energy and Climate Change Committee has issued a call for written evidence for its forthcoming inquiry into Electricity Market Reform. A consultation document for the EMR will be issued in the autumn and a White Paper in Spring 2011. The EMR will attempt to reform the electricity market to promote investment in energy infrastructure, particularly low-carbon generation. It will consider the implementation of a carbon floor price and advancement of the UK’s climate change mitigation agenda. The deadline for the submission of written evidence is Thursday 6 January 2011. View the call.

22 November

Korea Launches New CCS Association

Korea’s top energy, steel and engineering companies have launched a new Association to promote CCS technology. The Korea Carbon Capture and Storage Association is chaired by Korea Electric Power Corp president Kim Ssang-su and consists of 20 Companies including Korea National Oil Corp., and Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction. CCS is one of 10 green technologies being promoted by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy to reach the nation’s emission reduction targets. View the story.

21 November

South Korea Aims for Two CCS Projects by 2020

South Korea is to develop two 100 MW carbon capture demo projects to start in 2014. Commercial operations may begin by 2020. View the story.

19 November

Siemens CCS Breakthrough

Siemens Energy has completed the first test phase of its CO₂ capture process successfully. This took place at the Staudinger power plant operated by E.ON. The process efficiency, long-term chemical stability of the scrubbing agent and emissions were investigated under real power plant conditions. It has operated for over 3000 hours since the facility was commissioned in September 2009. The process has been found to have a CO₂ capture efficiency of over 90% with practically zero solvent emissions. Furthermore, the energy consumption is significantly lower than comparable conventional processes. View the story.

BP Uses Remote Sensing to Monitor Stored CO₂

A six year study involving BP and world-leading technology development organisations has found a costeffective way to show that CO₂ can be safely stored and monitored at industrial scale. The study found that satellite images are capable of picking up minute surface movements. The data indicates that CO₂ is behaving within expected parameters and is stored securely underground. View the story.

November

Six Bids to Host FutureGen Storage Site

The FutureGen clean-coal project has received six bids from Illinois to host the storage site of the project. The bidders are the city of Quincy, Christian County, the city of Tuscola along with Douglas County, Morgan County, Pike County and the city of Vandalia along the Fayette County. View the story.

11 November

Enel and Kepco Sign CCS CooperationAgreement

The CEO and General Manager of Enel, Fulvio Conti, and the CEO and Chairman of Korean Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), Kim Ssang-Su, have signed a Letter Intent, followed by Memorandums of Understanding to cooperate on Smart Grids and CCS. The companies have agreed to collaborate on research and development of CCS-related technologies and design, construction and operation of the CO₂ capture process. They also foresee joint testing of one pilot and one demonstration CCS Plant. View the story.

11 November

CCS Seminar to Address Issues for 1st Generation CCS Demos

The Scottish Centre for Carbon Capture and Storage hosted an event with support from the ScottishPower CCS Consortium and Scottish Enterprise. The event brought together participants from across the EU to address the challenges to be faced to build the first generation of CCS plants. View the press release.

11 November

U.S. EPA Issues Guidelines for GHG Emissions

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued guidelines to regulate CO₂ emissions from industrial facilities. The country’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases will have to show regulators how they plan to curb emissions when building new facilities or changing existing facilities by 2 January. It is hoped that reductions would be achieved through energy efficiency and CCS. View the story.

9 November

Taiwan Plans Trial Carbon Capture Program

Taiwan Power Co. is to plan a trial carbon capture program at its Taichung coal-fired power station. It aims to capture 10,000 metric tons of CO₂ from the station by 2014. The project’s success could lead to bigger programs for Taiwan Power. View the story.

9 November

€4 Billion EU Fund for CCS and Renewables

The EU has opened the first tranche of a €4 billion green infrastructure fund for CCS and renewable projects. The subsidies will be funded by the sale of up to 300 million carbon allowances in the New Entrants Reserve (NER) of the Emissions Trading Scheme. The NER300 funding, initially approved in February, has earmarked eight CCS projects with over 250MW of capacity and 24 renewables projects. The programme will fund up to 50% of construction and operation costs of the CCS and renewables projects, with member states providing the rest. View the story. Relevant documents for NER300 can be downloaded here. View the Call for tender, NER 300 call details, and Memo – Q&A on NER300. An information event on the NER300 Call for Proposals will take place on 19 November 2010 in Brussels from 13:30 to 17:00. This event will be webstreamed via the internet.

8 November

Government Releases Response to Market Sounding Exercise

The Government has released the responses to their Market Sounding Exercise. Respondents shared details of the number of projects under consideration, the scope of the programme, selection process, regulatory and risk issues and options for public funding provision. This exercise helps the Department of Energy and Climate Change to explore options for the CCS demonstration project selection and funding processes, as well as learn about projects being considered by industry. View the story.

8 November

Gas CCS to be Included in UK Government Competition

The Government has announced that the CCS demonstration programme has been opened up to allow gas CCS projects to compete for the three demonstration projects to follow the first, as well as coal CCS projects. This is following recommendations from the Climate Change Committee’s second progress report released in June and information released through the market sounding exercise. Chris Huhne said “Today the Government is reasserting its mission to lead the world on CCS, by opening our funding process to what could be one of the first ever commercial-scale CCS projects on a gas-fired plant in the world.” View the story.

5 November

Obama Seeks Alternative to ‘Cap and Trade’

President Obama has distanced himself from ‘Cap and Trade’ following the mid-term elections, and is to work with Republicans to find other means of curbing CO₂ emissions. For reactions to the changes in Obama’s green agenda, please see the articles below.

4 November

US DOE Sposored Field Tests into CO₂ Storage in Lignite Seams

A US Department of Energy (DOE) has demonstrated the widespread potential to store CO₂ in unmineable seams of lignite. The PCOR Partnership collaborated with Eagle Operating Inc to complete the field test in Burke County. It also evaluated a variety of carbon storage operation conditions to determine whether it would be applicable to other coal seams. View the story.

4 November

Shell’s Barendrecht CCS Project Cancelled

Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s CCS project in the Netherlands has been cancelled by the government due to a lack of support and delays in getting permits. “The realization of this project in the short term is no longer possible,” said Maxime Verhagen, minister of economic affairs. View the story.

3 November

Technische Universitaet Darmstadt Launches Pilot Plant

The Technische Universitaet Darmstadt has dedicated a pilot plant to capture CO₂ from flue gases of power plants. Its Institute for Energy Systems and Technology plants is to investigate two methods for CO₂ capture that require less energy and lower operating costs than earlier approaches. Over the next two years ‘carbonate looping’ and ‘chemical looping’ will be investigated for CO₂ capture for coal-, oil- and natural-gas fired power plants. View the story.

3 November

GCCSI Releases CCS Ready Issues Paper

The Global CCS Institute has released a new paper describing the intricacies around carbon capture and storage ready (CCS Ready) policy, to help governments prepare power generators to shift to a low carbon economy and signal future costs to investors. “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… Early stage planning for storage is also an important step that underpins what it really means to be CCS Ready.” View the press release. View the paper.

1 November

Alberta Government Assumes Long Term Liabilities of CO₂ Storage

The Alberta Government has introduced legislation for the province to assume long-term liability for CO₂ storage. Energy Minister Ron Liepert said the liability needed to be picked up by a long-term organisation such as the government. The government still has to decide on regulations for how much time should pass before Alberta takes over the liability. View the story.

31 October

ONGC Offered Stake in $1 Bn Norwegian CCS Project

The Norwegian Government has offered Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) a stake in its $1-billion CCS project at Statoil’s Mongstad oil refinery in Norway. Norway is also offering India technology for deepwater and subsea exploration. View the story.

27 October

Siemens Awarded Contract for CCS Project in Canada

Siemens Energy has been awarded a contract by SNC-Lavalin to deliver two vapour compressors for a post combustion CO₂ and SO2 capture plant at SaskPower’s Boundary Dam power plant in Saskatchewan. The project will go into operation 2014. View the story.

27 October

EC 150 Million Euro Aid for Netherlands CCS Project

The European Commission has authorised The Netherlands to provide a 150 million Euro Grant under EU state aid rules for a CCS demo project. The project is a joint venture between E.ON and GDF Suez. The CO₂ capture plant is to be constructed in the Rotterdam port area, with storage in a depleted gas field in the North Sea. The Commission concluded that the aid is within EU state aid rules, as the positive effects of the measure outweigh the potential distortions of competition. View the story.

25 October

Masdar and Siemens Sign Agreement for Strategic Partnership

Siemens is to implement an innovative power grid with advanced building technologies for the first phase of Masdar City, Abu Dhabi. An agreement was signed to establish a long term strategic partnership, which also includes collaboration on CCS, involving research and development with the Masdar Institute. View the story.

25 October

FutureGen Request for Site Proposals

The FutureGen Alliance has released a Request for Site Proposals for communities to host the storage site for FutureGen 2.0. Participants must declare intent of submission by 3 Nov, and applications must be submitted by 15 November. View the story.

25 October

National Infrastructure Plan Launched

The Government has published a National Infrastructure Plan outlining the Government’s vision for the future of UK economic infrastructure. The Government aims to increase security of supply through several factors, including “a successful carbon capture and storage demonstration programme to ensure that the UK can generate electricity not only from nuclear and renewable sources but also from fossil fuels without compromising carbon emission targets.”
The Prime Minister announced the launch at CBI. During the speech, he said “And we are also investing …£1 billion to create one of the worlds first Carbon Capture and Storage demonstration plants, with three more projects to follow and £200 million in low carbon technology, including offshore wind.” View the National Infrastructure Plan. View the speech.

23 October

ZeroGen for Sale after Weller Review

The Carbon Capture and Storage Flagships Program, for which the Former Australian minister Kevin Rudd oversaw a $2 billion federal budget, is well advanced but no decision has been made on the various state CCS projects are to be funded and supported. However, two projects have been put forward for this program, including ZeroGen. However, after the Weller review of all government boards, committees and statutory authorities, the Queensland government is now selling the project and the Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation associate director-general Dan Hunt and a key Treasury officer have been sent to Japan and the U.S. to begin negotiations for ZeroGen’s sale. Contenders for this sale include Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, as well as a consortium of Xstrata and GE. View the story.

22 October

GCCSI backs Callide Oxyfuel Project

The Callide Oxyfuel Project is to receive $1.83 million in principle from the Global CCS Institute. The project involves a retrofit of oxyfuel technology to CS Energy’s Callide A Power Station near Biloela. It will generate power in oxy-firing mode from mid-2011 for up to three years. View the story.

22 October

Bulgaria Considers Launching CCS Technology

Bulgaria’s Economy Ministry is examining the possibility of CCS in the country. The ministry will finance a project with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to examine the extent of Bulgaria’s geological capacity for storage. Potential sites to be examined are near Galabovo, Cherkovo, Pavlikeni and Yambol. View the story.

22 October

RWE, Linde, BASF Release Results from Pilot Plant

RWE, Linde and BASF have been testing technology for separating CO₂ from flue gas in a pilot plant at RWE’s Niederaussem power station near Cologne, and results from the practical test are now available. Compared to processes commonly run today, their technology captures CO₂ by means of new chemical solvents that can reduce energy input by about 20%, feature superior oxygen stability which reduces solvent consumption significantly. View the story.

October

Launch of IEA CCS Legal and Regulatory Review

The IEA has announced the launch of the CCS Legal and Regulatory Review. The CCS Review collates contributions by national and regional governments, as well as leading organisations engaged in CCS regulatory activities, to provide a knowledge-sharing forum to support CCS regulatory development. The first edition of the CCS Review is available at www.iea.org/ccs/legal.

22 October

ETI Develops Modelling to Aid CCS Planning

The Energy Technologies Institute is to develop a modelling took-kit to help industry, technology developers and the Government plan for the future of CCS in the UK. A Request for Proposals has been issues. The ETI will invest around £2 million in the project. The took-kit will help inform decisions about the operation and maintenance of different parts of the CCS chain, including power stations, compressor stations, pipelines and storage sites. A briefing session and workshop will be held on 16 November providing more details on the project. The deadline for submitting an intention to make a proposal is 26 November and the closing date is 17 December. View the story.

20 October

UK Spending Review Announced

The Chancellor has announced the Coalition Government’s four-year public spending plans in the Spending Review (SR) at the Commons. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) will reduce spending by 18% in real terms, increase capital spending by 41% in real terms and the Administration budget will be reduced by 33%. On CCS, the SR reads (Page 62)
"2.101 The Government remains committed to the Coalition Agreement policy of providing public funding for four CCS demonstration plants. Up to £1 billion will be invested in one of the world’s first commercial scale CCS demonstration projects at a power station. This funding is provided from general public spending and so does not require the introduction of a levy on electricity supplies for CCS. The Government will decide whether to introduce such a levy or to fund future demonstrations from general public spending once work has been completed in Spring 2011 on the reform of the climate change levy to provide support to the carbon price. The Government plans to publish this consultation in November."
Progress on funding Projects 2-4 of the competition will now be reassessed depending on a decision on the CCS Levy after the Climate Change Levy consultation.

View the press release from DECC.
Full details of the Spending Review can be found on the Treasury website
The full list of press notices can be found on here
The full document can be downloaded from here
The CCSA has also responded with a press release

Scottish Power has said “We welcome the Government’s reaffirmed commitment to making the UK a world-leader in carbon capture and storage.” (View the press release), whilst bosses for Teesside’s Eston Grange Power Project also agreed that this was “strong sign of support” (View the story). However, E.ON cited a lack of a broader incentive regime for their withdrawal from the Demo 1 CCS Competition (View the story).

20 October

E.ON Pull Out of UK CCS Demo 1 Competition

E.ON has announced that it will not proceed to the next stage of the Government’s CCS competition, as they cannot proceed within the competition timescales. Dr Paul Golby, Chief Executive of E.ON UK, said: "Having postponed Kingsnorth last year, it has become clear that the economic conditions are still not right for us to progress the project and so, simply put, we have no power station on which to build a CCS demonstration… We would obviously also wish Scottish Power well as they look to develop their own project at Longannet." View the press release.

20 October

GreenGen Reaches Major Milestone

China’s GreenGen IGCC with CCS project recently reached a major milestone with the successful installation of the primary gasifier for extracting syngas from coal. The $1 billion project will be developed in three phases, with the final phase reaching 650MW in capacity. The gasifier, developed by Huaneng’s Thermal Power Research Institute (TPRI) was installed as part of the 250MW first phase of the project, which is due to be completed by the end of 2011. View the story.

19 October

ECC Second Evidence Session on EPS

The Energy and Climate Change Committee held its second (and final) evidence session on their Inquiry into Emissions Performance Standards on Tuesday. The Committee firstly heard from the CCSA, AEP and CBI, followed by evidence from DECC and Charles Hendry. MPs heard from CCSA, AEP and CBI that an EPS would not currently add anything to emissions reductions and that the current regulation for CCS is sufficient. In addition, an EPS could add uncertainty and needs to be part of a holistic network. When questioned by MPs, Charles Hendry responded that there was still a role for coal as part of the UK energy mix and that the UK should lead the world on CCS. He also stressed that an EPS would only apply to new power plants constructed after a certain date and DECC emphasised that together with Government incentives and new regulation, an EPS should provide certainty for future investment. Listen to the session.

19 October

£1 Billion Funding for CCS

Chris Huhne has secured £1 billion from Treasury for the development of CCS. This is half the sum requested by DECC, but allays fears that the Coalition would drop the commitment to CCS. View the story.

19 October

Aker Clean Carbon awarded contract from ENEL

Aker Clean Carbon has won a contract to provide its carbon capture technology to ENEL of Italy. The contract is to conduct a FEED study for ENEL’s Porto Tolle CO₂ Capture Unit Project, and will be completed in the first quarter of 2011. View the story.

18 October

Chris Huhne Statement on Energy Policy: NPS Re-Consultation Launched

The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Chris Huhne, has announced the further consultation on the draft energy National Policy Statements (NPSs). Between November 2009 and February 2010, the previous Government consulted on six draft Energy NPSs and Appraisals of Sustainability. Having considered the responses to the consultations, the re-consultation has been announced on the revised draft NPSs and associated documents. View the statement.

18 October

CCS Featured on Countryfile

The programme “Countryfile” on the BBC featured a segment on CCS in its most recent episode. The description of the show reads
“CARBON CAPTURE – REALITY OR PIPE DREAM?
Tom Heap investigates whether the package of measures to reduce carbon emissions is likely to include carbon capture and storage. He visits Longannet Power Station in Scotland where the UK’s first carbon capture test facility is now operating. But he learns that the station is a long way from operating on a commercial scale. Financial and environmental costs are huge and until they can be reduced there is little or no prospect of carbon capture becoming a reality. And what do they do with the carbon once they’ve captured it? Tom goes to Nottingham to learn more.” View on BBC iPlayer.

14 October

WES, LLC Receives Perseo Award

Iberdrola has announced that Westec Environmental Solutions (WES), LLC as a winner under the first call for the Perseo Awards. WES, LLC was selected as the best proposal in the CO₂ Capture and Storage and Clean Combustion Category. The selection committee recognized the importance its WES Absorbertm technology. View the press release.

13 October

Hatfield Project on Hold Until Levy Clarified

Powerfuel’s chief executive Richard Budge has said that their 900 MW IGCC power station with pre-combustion CCS is on hold until the UK Coalition clarifies its policy and incentives regime for the technology. View the story.

12 October

GCCSI Announces Project Funding

The Global CCS Institute has announced the first set of projects to receive support across the range of technology, regulatory, policy and financial hurdles that must be addressed. Six initial projects in Australia, the U.S., Romania and the Netherlands, will receive AU$18 million in funding. They were selected from over 50 submissions. View the press release.

The Tenaska Trailblazer Energy Centre in Texas has won $8.03 million as part of this round of funding for studies into the development of a new 600MW coal-fired power station with 85-90% carbon capture. The other winners successful applicants were: CarbonNet in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley, the Callide Oxyfuel Project in south east Queensland, the Rotterdam CCS Network in the Netherlands, the Romanian CCS Demonstration Project and the Tenaska New Technologies/Entergy Corporation in Louisiana, US. View the story (registration required).

12 October

ECC Evidence Session on EPS

The Energy and Climate Change Committee has heard from the Committee on Climate Change, Prof Jon Gibbins, WWF, E3G and Green Alliance in the first evidence session in their inquiry into the Emissions Performance Standards. MPs heard that the EPS could be a useful tool in decarbonising the economy, but will not be sufficient by itself. Listen to the session.

11 October

CCS in the Financial Times

An article, “Companies warn on carbon fund cuts” has been published in the Financial Times, emphasising fears that Treasury may cut support for CCS. A letter has also been submitted to the Financial Times, “CSR threatens good intentions for carbon capture and storage”, signed by 19 individuals from universities, companies and other organisations, including Jeff Chapman, CEO of the CCSA. This letter urges for stronger UK leadership to drive investment in the future of CCS and create high-technology jobs. View the article and the letter (registration required).

9 October

Gilliard Praises Gorgon CCS Project

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has visited the Gorgon gas project to praise the world’s biggest CCS program. Ms Gilliard also thanked the U.S. for a $500,000 grant to the Global CCS Institute to promote CCS in developing countries. The Gorgon project would be equivalent to taking 2/3 of Australian vehicles off the road. View the story.

9 October

Chevron Project Recognised by CSLF

A project by Chevron Corp has been recognised by the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum (CSLF). Chevron, along with partners such as Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc., are involved in the $42 billion Gorgon liquefied natural gas venture off northwest Australia. Their A$2 billion CO₂ injection plan into a containment reservoir 2.5 km beneath Barrow Island, as part of this project, has received recognition. It will be the world’s largest commercial scale greenhouse gas storage site. The governments of Australia and the state of Western Australia accepted “long-term liability” for the storage site. View the article.

8 October

CSLF Add Five New Carbon Capture Projects

The Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum has added five new CCS projects to its existing R&D portfolio, bringing the number of CSLF recognised projects to 34. The projects include:

CCS Belchatów Project Belchatów Poland
CO₂ Field Lab Project Svelvik, Norway;
Gorgon CO₂ Injection Project - Barrow Island, WA, Australia
Quest CCS Project - Fort Saskatchewan, AB, Canada
SECARB Early Test at Cranfield Project - Cranfield, MS, United States

View the story.

7 October

Air Liquide to Participate in FutureGen 2.0

The U.S. Department of Energy has named Air Liquide to participate in FutureGen 2.0, the world’s first full scale oxy-combustion power plant incorporating permanent CO₂ CCS. View the press release.

7 October

AMEC Receives FEED Contract from National Grid

AMEC has been awarded a front-end engineering design (FEED) contract from National Grid Plc. AMEC will carry out the FEED for the transportation element of the CCS project which is being developed by a consortium including ScottishPower, National Grid, Aker Clean Carbon and Accenture Plc. The study will look at a new pipeline, conversion of Feeder 10 pipeline and the compressor station design at St. Fergus. View the story.

4 October

Chris Huhne Speech at The Carbon Show

Chris Huhne gave the keynote speech at the Carbon Show at the Business Design Centre in London. During the speech, he said “From offshore wind to carbon capture and storage, we are already leading the way. If we can convert our scientific advantages into hard commercial successes, we can cut carbon and lock-in profits. Making us more secure at home, and more competitive abroad…

It’s also best for the future of our planet. A third of UK emissions come from electricity generation. Conversion losses compound the problem. Burning fossil fuels isn’t just bad for the atmosphere, it’s also an inefficient way of transforming energy.
We need to get the right mix of technologies and energy sources, so that we play to our strengths. That includes cleaning our existing fossil fuel plants. With strong emissions performance standards, and a commitment to carbon capture and storage pilots.
Some dismiss CCS as a sticking plaster solution to a critical situation. But until we can produce our electricity cleanly, we must minimise the damage done by dirty fuels.
With a new coal powered power plant switching on every week in China, our ability to develop and export CCS on a commercial scale makes environmental and business sense.” View the speech.

4 October

National Centre for Carbon Capture and Storage Established

“Britain has placed itself firmly at the forefront of the fight against climate change by launching a pioneering independent centre for research into carbon capture.
“The National Centre for Carbon Capture and Storage combines the expertise of two of the UK’s most respected institutions in the field of tackling global warming: the British Geological Survey and the University of Nottingham’s Centre for Innovation in Carbon Capture and Storage.” View the story.

4 October

B9 Coal, Powerfuel, AFC Energy Sign Letter of Intent

British Companies Powerfuel Power Ltd, B9 Coal Ltd and AFC Energy Plc have signed a Letter of Intent to install AFC Energy’s fuel cell technology at Powerfuel’s Hatfield site near Doncaster. Up to 300 MW of AFC Energy’s fuel cell technology will be used alongside Powerfuel’s planned integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power station, which is being constructed by Powerfuel with CCS capability. View the story.

4 October

Shell and CO2DeepStore to Redevelop North Sea Gas Fields for CCS

CO2DeepStore are to work with Shell UK to find a storage solution for Scottish Power’s CCS project at Longannet. They are to focus on the Goldeneye gas field in the North Sea. View the story.

4 October

Ofgem to Allow National Grid CCS Ambitions

Ofgem is to allow National Grid’s proposal for the disposal and possible alternative use of some of its high pressure National Transmission System (NTS) in Scotland for CCS. Ofgem has consulted about this possibility, which could allow National Grid to take an active role in CCS plans for Longannet, one of the schemes involved in the Government’s CCS competition. View the story.

4 October

Linc Energy and GFZ Sign MOU for UCG CCS Project

Linc Energy has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Helmholtz Centre Potsdam GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) to establish a framework for an exclusive working relationship for potential Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) and CCS projects. Linc Energy will contribute 24,000 Euros per quarter towards UCG-CCS Research. View the press release.

4 October

ADA-ES Signs $19 Million Contract with U.S. DOE for Capture Technology

ADA-ES, Inc. has signed a new contract with the U.S. Department of Energy to continue to develop clean coal technology to capture CO₂ from coal-fired power plans and industrial sources. The $19 million project will be administered by the DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), which is providing $15 million of funding. This will advance ADA’s commercialisation plan for regenerable solid-sorbent technology for capturing CO₂. The contract is expected to run for 51 months to scale up the technology to 1MW level. View the story.

1 October

ICO2N Launches New Website

The Integrated CO₂ Network, ICO2N, has launched two new information resources to help Canadians better understand CCS and the need for CCS. A new website and Brochure has been launched. View the website.

28 September

$1 Billion Committed by U.S. DOE to FutureGen 2.0

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu has announced the signing of the final cooperative agreement of the U.S. Department of Energy with the FutureGen Industrial Alliance and Ameren Energy Resources. This agreement formally commits $1 billion in Recovery Act funding to build FutureGen 2.0. View the story.

28 September

New Study on Development of CCS Industry in Scotland

Scottish Enterprise, in partnership with the Scottish Government, key industry players and leading research bodies, is to develop a CCS Cluster Investment Plan. The study will consider how Scotland’s carbon storage potential can be utilised and the steps required to make this a resource that can support the location of low carbon industries in Scotland. Initial findings from the study are expected to be published by the end of 2010. View the story.

24 September

CEO of CO2CRC Receives IEA Greenman Award

“The Chief Executive of The Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (CO2CRC), Dr Peter Cook, has been awarded one of two 2010 Greenman Awards by the International Energy Agency Greenhouse Gas R&D Program for his longstanding national and international commitment to carbon capture and storage (CCS) research and development…
The second 2010 Greenman Award went to Howard Hertzog of MIT, an equally significant recipient in the areas of carbon dioxide capture and economics.” View the story.

23 September

CO₂ Captured from Southern Company Power Plant

Southern Company has captured CO₂ from its subsidiary Georgia Power’s Plant Yates near Newnan, Ga, for the first time. The pilot-scale project at Plant Yates uses a capture system developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI). It will provide additional process improvements before the technology is demonstrated next year at a larger 25MW scale at Plant Barry, owned and operated by Southern Company subsidiary Alabama Power near Mobile, Ala. View the story.

23 September

FutureGen Appoints New CEO

Kenneth K. Humphreys has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer by the FutureGen Alliance Board of Directors. Michael J. Mudd had recently announced his retirement from this post. Mr Humphreys will lead the Alliance to restructure its partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy and the State of Illinois to build the world’s first near-zero emissions coal CCS plant. View the story.

23 September

CSA Standards Announce Development of CCS Standard for Geological Storage

CSA Standards, a developer of standards, codes and personnel certification programs, and the International Performance Assessment Centre for Geological Storage of Carbon Dioxide have announced a joint agreement to develop Canada’s first CCS standard for CO₂ storage. It will be submitted to the Standards Council of Canada, making it the world’s first formally recognized CCS standard in this area. The standard is intended to be used as a basis to promote international standards through the International Organization of Standardization. View the story.

22 September

California Unveils its Clean Energy Future

A new plan has been unveiled outlining how California’s energy agencies will achieve environmental and energy policy goals established by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. “California’s Clean Energy Future” vision includes an implementation plan and roadmap. The document outlines targets for 2020, one of which is the development of at least one large-scale carbon capture and storage generating facility in California. View the story.

21 September

Chris Huhne Speech on Green Deal at LibDem Conference

Chris Huhne, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, made a speech to the Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference on the subject of the Government’s Green Deal. On the subject of CCS, he said:
“The fourth pillar of our low-carbon policy is clean coal and gas: taking the carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels and storing them safely under the North Sea. The days of dirty fossil fuels are over. We will guarantee this through strict emission performance standards and by pioneering four carbon capture and storage plants. We in Britain can become to clean coal and gas what Germany is to solar and wind, and France is to nuclear. And our low-carbon policy will insure consumers, and businesses, against the oil price shocks to come.” View the story.

20 September

New Report on Securing Finance for CCS Projects

A new report has been launched by The Climate Group and Ecofin Research Foundation, funded by the Global CCS Institute, as part of Climate Week in New York. “Carbon Capture and Storage: Mobilising Private Sector Finance” provides insight into the views of private sector capital providers on financing fist generation industrial scale CCS projects. It explains that the finance sector is willing to fund CCS projects, but only if it is demonstrated to be viable without public funding. View the report.

17 September

European Commission Launches World's First Project Network for CCS

The European Commission has launched an EU tool that supports early large-scale demonstration of CCS technologies. The CCS Project Network fosters knowledge sharing and raising public understanding of the role of CCS in cutting CO₂ emissions. This is to accelerate learning and ensure that the Commission can help CCS to become a commercially viable technology. View the story.

16 September

Simulation-Based Engineering User Centre Announced by Secretary Chu

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu has announced the creation of the Simulation-Based Engineering User Centre (SBEUC). Funded with $20 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, SBEUC will be used primarily to develop and deploy simulation tools developed under the CCS Simulation Initiative. View the press
release.

15 September

European Climate Foundation Launches New Roadmap 2050 Report in the UK

A conference organised by Green Alliance and the European Commission Representation in the UK launched the European Climate Foundation Roadmap 2050. The report involved analysis by McKinsey & Company, KEMA, The Energy Futures Lab at Imperial College London, Oxford Economics, Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands, Office for
Metropolitan Architecture, E3G and the Regulatory Assistance Project. The report presents a range of options for decarbonising the electricity supply using renewables, nuclear and CCS. View the report.

September

CCS Club Launched by TUV NEL and NMO

The CCS Club is supported by TUV NEL and the UK Government’s National Measurement Office (NMO) and has been developed to bring together key players to focus on developing the necessary technologies and reporting methodologies to support the CCS industry in the UK. View the Flow Tidings newsletter.

15 September

Scottish Parliament Debate on Hunterston Power Station

The motion placed by Ross Finnie, “Hunterston—not the way forward for carbon capture”, was debated in the Scottish Parliament yesterday. Please see the link below to view the debate, which begins at marker Col 28572. View the debate.

15 September

CBI Recommendations on Low-Carbon Heat and Inclusion of Industrial CCS

The CBI is urging the Government to develop a clear strategy to reduce carbon emissions from heat. The CBI today launched their new report The Heat is on: Delivering an integrated heat policy at their energy conference in London today. The CBI is calling for several measures, including the Department of Energy & Climate Change and Treasury considering opening up the competition for CCS projects to industrial projects. View the story.

14 September

First CO₂ Captured from ELCOGAS Pilot Plant

14 September - The first tonne of CO₂ was captured from the 14MW ELCOGAS IGCC pilot plant in Puertollano on 13 September between 8 and 10pm. The plant combines H2 production and CO₂ capture. It is the first industrial-scale pilot plant in operation in Spain and the first integrated into an IGCC plant dedicated to electricity production in the world. View the press release (in Spanish).

14 September

Ed Milliband Question to ECC

Four parliamentary question on CCS were posed to the Energy and Climate Change (ECC) Committee by Ed Milliband. The answers can be found on the website below. A question was also submitted by Bridget Phillipson regarding ECC plans to introduce environmental performance standards to regulate carbon emissions from coal-fired power stations. View the questions (See section "Energy and Climate Change; Carbon Sequestration").

13 September

Process Group and Westec Environmental Solutions, LLC Announce New International Partnership on CCS

Westec Environmental Solutions (WES), LLC has announced a joint venture development agreement with Process Group Pty Ltd. of Australia. Process Group Pty Ltd is contracted to design and engineer a CO₂ capture pilot demonstration plant, the QER Shale to Liquids Project in Australia where the WES Absorbertm , which offers potential to reduce the cost of carbon capture by 30%, will be used. View the press release.

13 September

U.S. Secretary of Energy Announces $9.6 Million Funding

U.S. Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu, has announced $9.6 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to be invested in transformational energy research. Six projects were selected by the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). One of the projects, Sustainable Energy Solutions (Provo, UT) is to receive $750,000 for research into cryogenic carbon capture, which offers the potential for improved efficiency and lower capture costs. View the story.

13 September

Government Response to ECC Report

The Government has released its response to the report ‘Low Carbon Technologies in a Green Economy’ from the Energy and Climate Change Committee. The CCSA also submitted a response to this enquiry. View the story.

10 September

South African CCS Atlas Launched

South African Energy Minister Dipuo Peters has launched the South African Carbon Capture and Storage Atlas for the geological storage of CO₂. The Atlas highlights that South Africa has about 150Gt of storage capacity, as well as where the capacity is located. The majority of the storage capacity was located offshore, and the largest storage volume (roughly 98% of the total storage potential) was located in the Mezoic basins along the coast of South Africa, mostly in saline formations. View the story.

9 September 2010

CCC Letter to Chris Huhne on Renewable Energy Ambitions to 2020

The Committee on Climate Change have sent a letter to Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Chris Huhne, on the subject of the level of renewable energy
ambition to 2020 as part of their broader renewable energy review. Going forward, the committee will asses the scope for renewable energy in meeting carbon budgets and the 2050 emissions target. One of the six key areas that will be focussed on will be the economics of renewable technologies and comparisons of these to other low-carbon technologies such as nuclear and CCS power generation. View the story.

9 September 2010

ScottishPower Announces First Academic Alliance

ScottishPower has announced its sponsorship of the UK’s first alliance between industry and academia focussing specifically on CCS. The ScottishPower Academic Alliance, SPAA, will combine the needs of the UK CCS industry with the research capacity of leading academics from Imperial College London and the University of Edinburgh. ScottishPower is investing almost £5 million over the next five years to fund up to 12 full-time researchers working at University of Edinburgh and Imperial College London. View the press release.

8 September

CO2CRC Awarded $855,000 additional funding

The Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (CO2CRC) in Australia has been awarded $855,000 additional funding for two CO₂ capture projects. These are two of the five projects to receive funding from Brown Coal Innovation Australia (BCIA) under the Victorian Government’s Energy Technology Innovation Strategy (ETIS). The CO2CRC/HRL Mulgrave Capture Project is looking into pre-combustion capture, whilst CO2CRC H3 Capture Project is investigating ways to improve post-combustion capture from its Hazelwood power station. View the story.

8 September

U.S. DOE Announces Investment in Carbon Capture and Storage Simulation Initiative

The U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu has announced the creation of the Carbon Capture and Storage Simulation Initiative. Up to $40 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be invested in the initiative and will bring together national laboratories and regional universities to collaborate on CCS research. The Initiative will allow the DOE’s National Risk Assessment Partnership (NRAP) to accelerate the development of a defensible science-based methodology for quantifying and minimizing potential risks associated with long-term storage of CO₂. View the story.

7 September 2010

U.S. Energy Secretary Announces $575 Million Funding for Clean Coal Technologies

The U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu has announced the selection of 22 projects to receive funding of over $575 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These funds will accelerate CCS research and development for industrial sources. The projects fall into four areas 1) Large scale testing of advanced gasification technologies (to receive $312 million) ; 2) advanced turbo-machinery to lower emissions from industrial sources (to receive $123 million); 3) post-combustion CO₂ capture with increased efficiencies and decreased costs (to receive $90 million); and 4) geologic storage site characterization to receive $50 million). View the announcement.
The following have received funding

7 September 2010

New Scottish Motion Tabled: Hunterston Not the Way Forward for Carbon Capture?

A motion was lodged in the Scottish Parliament on 7 September “Ross Finnie: Hunterston Not the Way Forward for Carbon Capture?” There are concerns that the emissions from the proposed Hunterston plant are incompatible with the climate change targets set out in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, and so the development of CCS technology should be restricted to existing coal-fired stations. View the motion.

6 September 2010

Consultation on Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations to transpose the directive on carbon capture and storage and to encourage anaerobic digestion
The Government consultation invites views on proposals to transpose the Directive on carbon capture and storage to the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010. The consultation will run from 3 September 2010 until 26 November 2010. View the consultation.

3 September 2010

U.S. Centres for U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Announced

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu has announced two consortia that are to receive $25M over five years under the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Centre (CERC). The Consortium lead by the University of Michigan has received the award to advance technologies for clean vehicles. The consortium lead by West Virginia University has received funding to focus on the next generation of clean coal technologies, including CCS. The funding will be matched by the grantees to provide at least $50 M in total U.S. funding, whilst Chinese counterparts will contribute $50M, bringing the total funding from both countries to $100M. View the article.

2 September 2010

NETL Releases 2009 Accomplishments Report

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in the U.S. has released its Accomplishments report for 2009. The report summarises energy research and technology development achievements, including advances in clean fossil-based systems with CCS. View the story.

27 August 2010

DECC CO₂ Storage Licensing Plans Published

The Government has released its plans on how it will license CO₂ storage under the sea bed, following its recent consultation on geological storage of CO₂. DECC will now lay the regulations before Parliament in order to comply with European rules on the underground storage of CO₂. These will come into effect on 1 October. Charles Hendry MP, Minister of State for Energy said: “Carbon capture and storage is essential for mitigating climate change while maintaining energy security.” View the plans.

26 August 2010

UK-Norway Collaboration Strengthened

The UK and Norway are to increase co-operation to re-establish the North Sea as one of the world’s leading energy hubs. A ministerial statement has been signed by the British and Norweigan Energy Ministers, Charles Hendry and Terje Riis-Johansen respectively, to formalise the pact. The partnership will focus on encouraging renewable and clean technologies. The two countries will collaborate at upcoming negotiations on CCS technologies in order to accelerate the development of storage projects around the North Sea. View the story. View the original report.

26 August 2010

B9 Coal Enters UK CCS Competition

B9 coal has announced that they will enter the upcoming government competition for a further three UK CCS Projects. B9 Coal is proposing to build a 500MW plant at the Rio Tinto Alcan plant at Lynemouth, Northumberland. The plant would use underground coal gasification technology, resulting in “syngas” which is passed through a clean-up process, separating hydrogen from carbon dioxide. It would allow 90% of CO₂ emissions to be captured and would also convert hydrogen to electricity at 60% efficiency. This is estimated to result in electricity costing as low as 4p per kWh. B9 Coal is part of a consortium including WSP Group, AFC Energy and Linc Energy. View the story.

23 August 2010

India and U.S. To Set Up Clean Energy Research Institute

India and the United States have agreed to set up a clean energy research centre to develop low carbon technologies such as solar energy, smart grids and clean coal technologies including CCS and IGCC. The centre will be virtual, with no physical infrastructure, where Indian and American professionals, students and policy makers will be able to interact. View the story.

23 August 2010

UK Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) to Conduct CCS Study

The ETI is to study the availability and distribution of suitable minerals across the UK and technologies that could be used to capture and store CO₂ emissions. A consortium, led by Caterpillar, including Shell, the British Geological Survey and Centre for Innovation in Carbon Capture and Storage at the University of Nottingham, was selected for this £1 million project. The study will include assessment of the distribution of suitable materials together with an estimate of how much of these could practically be used and indicate the economics of CO₂ capture by mineralisation. In addition the study will identify technologies that could be developed to meet the UK requirements and determine the viability of mineralisation compared to traditional CCS approaches. View the story.

August 2010

U.S. Universities receive DoE funding for CCS Research

The U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) has awarded $3 million in research grants to Montana and Wyoming Universities to study ways of storing carbon from power plants. Montana State University is to receive $1.6 million of over three years as part of $21.3 million that the DoE is spending on 15 universities to research better ways to store CO₂ underground. The University of Wyoming will receive $1.5 million (View the story). New Mexico Tech is to receive $400,000 as a three-year grant (View the story), whilst Georgia Institute of Technology has also been awarded funding (View the story). Cornell University and University of Buffallo have received $1.3 million (View the story).

17 August 2010

Chris Huhne MP Responds to Guardian Article

UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Chris Huhne, has responded to an article in the Guardian, “Dirtiest coal power plants win reprieve”, explaining that the coalition is not “watering down” commitments, and reiterated the Government’s commitment to introducing an emissions performance standard. He also emphasised that new coal power stations will not be built unless equipped with carbon capture and storage. View the story.

12 August 2010

U.S. Interagency Task Force on CCS Delivers Recommendations to President Obama

The Interagency Task on CCS, co-chaired by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) have delivered recommendations to President Obama on overcoming barriers to the widespread, cost-effective deployment of CCS within 10 Years. The report concludes that CCS can play an important role in reducing domestic GHG emissions. In February 2010, the president sent a memorandum requesting the task force to propose a plan for the widespread, cost-effective deployment of CCS within 10 years, with a goal of bringing 5 to 10 commercial demonstration projects online by 2016. View the press release.

11 August 2010

US DoE Selects CO₂ Storage Projects

The US Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced funding of $21.3 million over three years for 15 projects to develop technologies for safely storing CO₂ in different geological formations across the US. These projects will complement existing US DoE efforts such as the Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships, and will address issues such as CO₂ injectivity, storage capacity, plume migration and containment. View the press release.

6 August 2010

Doosan Tests Successful at World’s Largest OxyCoal™ Test Facility

Doosan Power Systems has announced a successful first year of testing at the world’s largest OxyCoal™ Clean Combustion Test Facility at Renfrew. This is a major step in making full-scale carbon capture a reality. It has successfully demonstrated the OxyCoal™ Clean Combustion system for the first time on a full-size 40MWth burner. View the press release.

5 August 2010

$1 Billion for CCS Network in Illinois

The U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu and U.S. Senator Dick Durbin announced the award of $1 billion in Recovery Act funding to the FutureGen 2.0 Project, which involves Ameren Energy Rescources, Babcock & Wilcox, and Air Liquide Process & Construction, Inc. It is an investment in the world’s first, commercial-scale, oxy-combustion power plant. The partner recipients will repower Ameren’s 200MW Unit 4 in Meredosia, Illinois with advanced oxy-combustion technology. It will deliver 90% CO₂ capture. Furthermore, project partners working with the State of Illinois will establish a regional CO₂ storage site in Mattoon Illinois and CO₂ pipeline network from Meredosia to Mattoon that will transport and store more than 1 million tons of captured CO₂ per year. View the press release.
UPDATE: MATTOON HAS BACKED OUT OF FUTUREGEN 2.0. VIEW THE STORY.

5 August 2010

Vince Cable announces Low Carbon Investment

Business Secretary Vince Cable visited the North East of the UK to announce the latest funding package of £4.6 million from the Tees Valley Industrial Programme (TVIP) for 14 projects in the region, with £1.3 million of this being used to develop CCS in the North East. The Government has invested £30 million of the £60 million allocated to TVIP. This investment will create over 1,700 full time jobs and safeguard 1,200 more. Overall, the Programme will create 3,000 jobs and sustain over 10,000 jobs in the long term. View the article.

3 August 2010

Bellona CCS Roundtable in Hungary

A meeting hosted by the British Embassy and co-organised by Bellona and Hungarian environmental NGO Energia Klub brought together more than 30 participants representing governmental departments, major power companies, environmental NGOs and research institutions to discuss CCS issues such as safety, long-term responsibility and economic efficiency. Eivind Hoff, director of Bellona Europe, presented the ‘Bellona Scenario’, suggesting that although there is no single solution for reaching a carbon neutral economy, CCS and carbon negative energy could contribute 30% to long-term climate mitigation targets. Péter Kardos, climate change expert from Energia Klub, and Chris Littlecott, from NGO Green Alliance, also provided keynote discussions on unanswered concerns on CCS deployment and the UK’s CCS policy. View the full story.

2 August 2010

Siemens to supply CCS technology for the Texas Clean Energy Project

Siemens (CCSA member) has been awarded a Front End Engineering Design (FEED) contract by Summit Texas Clean Energy LLC to provide coal gasification and power block technology for the Texas Clean Energy Project (TCEP). The project received a US$350 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Coal Power Initiative (CCPI)- Round 3 to demonstrate the commercial integration of large-scale IGCC with CO₂ capture and geological storage. This new polygeneration coal IGCC project will have a gross capacity of 400MWe, with a carbon capture rate of 90% (around 3 million tons/year), making it one of the largest rates in the world. The CO₂ will be used for enhanced oil recovery in the West Texas area. The TCEP will be located in Penwell, near Odessa, Texas. Siemens will work with Fluor Corporation and Linde during the project’s FEED. View the full story.

30 July 2010

Cameron Praises Edinburgh University for Carbon Capture Research

UK Prime Minister David Cameron, on his official visit to India, praised Edinburgh University for its work on carbon capture research in India. He explained his belief that the UK can be leader in carbon capture and storage technology. One of the purposes of Cameron’s visit is to increase collaboration in energy research. View the full story.

28 July 2010

Lord Hunt Oral Question on Carbon Capture and Storage

Lord Hunt put forward a question on the subject of coal and gas CCS at the House of Lords. Lord Hunt highlighted that coal will be a prime energy product in the foreseeable future, and with the UK’s natural reserves on coal and CCS export potential. Lord Marland agreed that the priority must be on coal CCS, and the Government is considering advice from the Committee on Climate Change to support at least one gas CCS project in the UK. The subject of storage in North Sea aquifers, time scales involved in deploying CCS commercially and the UK-China CCS projects for near-zero carbon emissions and the role of the UK in CCS development were also discussed. View the question.

July 2010

SUDG launches new ‘Sustainable Development and the Sea’ brochure

The Seabed User & Developer Group (SUDG), of which the CCSA is a member, launched their new ‘Sustainable Development and the Sea’ brochure on 21 July at the House of Commons. The reception was hosted by Anne Begg MP and DEFRA minister, Richard Benyon MP, who made the keynote speech. SUDG represents marine industries committed to sustainable development, including oil and gas, renewable energy and CCS. SUDG worked closely wih Government, regulators and conservation bodies during the development of the Marine and Coastal Access Act, which requires that decisions about managing the sea should take into account the socio-economic value of any development proposal as well as the environmental consequences. View the press release and the brochure.

27 July 2010

UK: Coalition Releases First Annual Energy Statement

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne has released the first Annual Energy Statement, which provides 32 action points for energy and climate change policy of the coalition government, as well as announcing 6 pathways to 2050 that could result in an 80% decrease in carbon emissions, and a ‘2050’ calculator which allows the public to explore the trade-offs required to create a secure, low carbon energy system in the future. The 2050 pathways concentrate on a combination of renewables, nuclear and carbon capture and storage.
The Annual Energy Statement reaffirms the Coalition’s commitment to continuing public sector investment in four CCS demonstration Projects and establishing an Emissions Performance Standard (EPS) to limit CO₂ emissions for future coal-fired stations.
Finally, a CCS Development Forum will be launched to hold DECC to account on delivering it CCS commitments, in order to promptly deliver CCS in the UK and address potential barriers. A CCS Roadmap is intended to be published with proposed time-scales as well as key policy and commercial issues that have to be addressed and when. View the statement.

27 July 2010

Fluor Corporation’s Carbon Capture Technology To Be Used By Tenaska

Tenaska is to use Fluor’s Econamine FG Plus SM Carbon Capture technology for the proposed Tenaska Trailblazer Energy Centre near Sweeatwater, Texas. It will be a 600 MW pulverized coal plant that will capture 85-90% of CO₂ by-product, which will be sent to the Permian Basin and used in Enhanced Oil Recovery. View the article.

26 July 2010

U.S. Department of energy announces funding for two demonstration projects

The U.S. Department of Energy has funded two demonstration projects to advance CO₂ capture technologies. Tampa Electric is in partnership with CCSA member Siemens to pilot a project at Tampa Electric’s Big Bend Power Station in Ruskin, Florida (see story from 19 July).
Furthermore, Tampa Electric is in partnership with RTI International and Shaw Group to study new technology to clean synthetic gas at elevated temperatures, in order to evaluate the construction of a pilot project at the 250MW IGCC plant at Tampa Electric Polk Power Station.
It is expected to reduce capital and operating costs of an IGCC plant that is fitted with carbon capture technology. View the article.

22 July 2010

New Inquiry Launched on Emissions Performance Standards

A new Inquiry has been launched by the UK Parliament into Emissions Performs Standards (EPSs) for power stations. The Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee wants to understand what impact an EPS would have on both the development of CCS as well as on domestic energy prices. The committee is looking into what the level for an EPS should be in the UK both for coal and gas-fired plant. View the news story.

20 July 2010

Chris Huhne Launches Global Carbon Capture and Storage Initiative

An international work programme to facilitate CCS enhancement and deployment has today been announced by Chris Huhne, Secretary of State for DECC, as part of the first meeting of the Clean Energy Ministerial convened in Washington by US Secretary of Energy Steven Chu. Mr Huhne stated “that the new 'Carbon Capture, Use and Storage Action Group (CCUS) would bring together governments, businesses and other key stakeholders in a regular forum to debate, inform and help execute plans to accelerate CCS deployment between now and 2020.” Mr Huhne also emphasised the importance of CCS technology for tackling climate change, however he stressed the need for governments to introduce frameworks for regulation and incentives to enable deployment. View press release.

21 July 2010

Britain and Australia Agree to Collaborate on Carbon Capture and Storage

Two days of talks took place in Washington between 21 nations on climate change and energy issues, as an offshoot of the US Major Economies Forum. The nations agreed 11 initiatives of joint work, including an agreement between Britain and Australia to work together on accelerating work on carbon capture and storage. View the news story .

19 July 2010

US Department of Energy Awards Grant to Siemens Energy for CO₂ Capture

A carbon capture pilot plant for treating a slipstream at Tampa Electric's coal-fired power plant in Florida is being designed, installed and operated by CCSA member Siemens Energy, through a $8.9m grant from the US DoE. The post-combustion demonstration will treat a 1MW slipstream of the flue gas from the 1,892 MW power station, where the pilot will capture 90 percent of the CO₂ emissions, and hopefully reduce the amount of energy traditionally required for carbon capture. This pilot plant is scheduled to be in operation in 2013. View the news story .

19 July 2010

Committee on Climate Change Calls for UK to Protect Funding for Development of Low-Carbon Technologies

The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has today published the report Building a low-carbon economy – the UK’s innovation challenge, calling for the UK to ensure funding is maintained for the development and deployment of vital low-carbon technologies that will significantly help the UK reach its 2050 target of 80% reduction in emissions. The report recommends that funding should focus on six key technologies, one of which is CCS. In 2009/10, the UK spent £550m on low-carbon RD&D – as a percentage of GDP, this is currently less than several other countries, including Denmark, Norway, Japan, Korea, U.S. and France. View the report.

16 July 2010

Low Carbon Energy Agreement with Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd and Mitsubishi Power Systems Europe Ltd) and SSE (Scottish and Southern Energy plc) have entered into a strategic agreement to co-operate on low carbon energy developments.The agreement will enable the partners to explore a range of technologies including offshore wind farms, advanced technology for smart electricity grids and low carbon vehicles, carbon capture and storage and high-efficiency power generation. View the news story .

8 July 2010

Market Sounding for CCS Demonstration Programme Projects 2-4

The DECC will begin a 2 month market sounding process for the UK’s CCS Demonstration Programme, spanning from 8 July to 15 September. Although not a formal consultation, it will help the Department to explore options for the CCS demonstration project selection and funding processes, as well as learn about projects being considered by industry. View the announcement.

8 July 2010

Scottish and Southern Energy announce gas Carbon Capture and Storage project

Scottish and Southern Energy has decided to prepare a Carbon Capture and Storage project at its gas-fired power station at Peterhead, Aberdeenshire. The project would demonstrate post-combustion capture of carbon dioxide emissions relating to the electricity output of the equivalent of 400MW of capacity. It would involve using an existing gas turbine, an existing steam turbine, an existing electricity network connection and land adjacent to the power station already owned by SSE. View the press release.

6 July 2010

New Method to Gauge America’s CO₂ Storage Potential

A new methodology to assess America’s potential to store carbon dioxide (CO2) is available. The U.S. Geological Survey will commence a national assessment of CO₂ storage potential now that its assessment methodology is complete. This research can be used to plan for the long-term storage of CO₂ to help lessen the impacts of climate change. View the press release.

2 July 2010

China starts building first carbon capture project

China has started construction of its first carbon dioxide capture and storage project in Ordos in Inner Mongolia to reduce carbon emissions. The project will cost 210 million yuan ($30.9 million) and will be able to hold 100,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year, China National Petroleum Corp, the country's biggest oil producer and the plant's designer, said in a statement on its website today. The facility will start operations by the end of the year, it said. View the full news story.

1 July 2010

CO2CRC begins next five years of CCS research

Australia’s world-leading research into carbon capture and storage (CCS) is set to continue with a new five year program of CO2CRC research now underway. “CO2CRC’s 2010-2015 program tackles the full chain of CCS - capture, transport and geological storage of carbon dioxide – while focusing on the major technical obstacles to large scale deployment,” said Dr Peter Cook, Chief Executive of CO2CRC. “The next five years will be crucial for the global development of CCS, as commercial projects begin to come on-stream, both here, through the Federal Government’s CCS Flagship initiative, and overseas.” View the press release.

30 June 2010

CCC second annual report

The independent Committee on Climate Change (CCC) published its second annual report, issuing a warning that the UK must deliver a "step change" in the pace at which underlying greenhouse emissions are reduced if it is to meet legally binding targets. The report features a number of policy recommendations, which the committee argues the government must adopt if it is to stay within its carbon budgets. According to the report the government should aim to demonstrate CCS on coal and gas-fired plants and move quickly to select the first demonstration plants. It also recommends an emissions performance standard that would effectively ban new coal-fired plants without CCS technology post-2020. It adds that the government should consider a similar standard for gas-fired plants. View the press release and summary article.

30 June 2010

Climate Change and Emissions Management Corporation announces funding for five new clean technology projects

The Climate Change and Emissions Management Corporation (CCEMC) has announced more than $28.1 million in funding for five new clean technology projects in Alberta. Three Carbon Capture and Storage projects will receive more than $4.8 million in funding. For every dollar the CCEMC invests in these carbon capture and storage projects, on average, another $2 dollars are also invested. View the press release.

29 June 2010

Poland’s new GeoCO₂ consortium launches CCS research

An agreement to establish GeoCO₂ Science and Industry Consortium has been signed. The aim of the Consortium is to study the possible storage of CO₂ in sandstone saline water-bearing formations. A monitoring programme of such storage is also to be examined. The project results will enable CO₂ emitters in the Polish energy sector to implement their individual CCS-ready programmes. View the full article.

28 June 2010

University of Texas Receives $19 Million to Monitor Carbon Storage Project

The University of Texas at Austin will receive up to $19 million from the U.S. Department of Energy and NRG Energy to design and oversee a monitoring plan for a carbon capture and storage demonstration project in southeast Texas.
This project will be among the first in the state of Texas, and one of only a handful in the world, to use anthropogenic CO₂ as opposed to naturally occurring CO₂ for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The project is designed to show that post-combustion CCS applied to existing plants can be done economically, especially when the plant has the opportunity to sequester carbon dioxide in nearby oilfields. View the press release.

22 June 2010

Guidance on CCS emissions issued

Guidelines for monitoring and reporting emissions from the capture, transport and geological storage of CO₂ were published in the Official Journal of the European Union on Tuesday. The guidelines on emissions from carbon capture and storage (CCS) and transport were adopted by the European Commission earlier this month. They are intended for installations covered by the EU's emissions trading scheme using CCS technology. View the publication.

22 June 2010

UK government budget 2010

Relevant issues highlighted in the budget are reform to the Climate Change Levy to provide more certainty and support to the carbon price, the creation of a Green Investment Bank following the Spending Review, and the establishment of Infrastructure UK (IUK) to lead work within HM Treasury to enable greater private sector investment in infrastructure and improve the Government’s long-term planning and delivery. View the budget website.

18 June 2010

Committee on Climate Change advises government to fund gas CCS project

The Committee on Climate Change has advised Chris Huhne to consider extending the CCS competition to include gas as well as coal demonstration projects. In a letter to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Lord Adair Turner suggests that serious consideration should be given to funding at least one gas CCS demonstration project as part of the four coal CCS demonstration projects committed to in the Coalition Agreement. This is based on new evidence on the potential competitiveness of gas CCS with other forms of low carbon generation, and the very limited international effort to develop this technology. Also recommended is an Emissions Performance Standard that would effectively require any new gas plant beyond 2020 to be fitted with CCS, although plant added to the system before 2020 would remain exempt. View the press release.

16 June 2010

IPAC-CO₂ and CSA Standards to develop CCS guidelines

CSA Standards and the International Performance Assessment Centre for Geologic Storage of Carbon Dioxide (IPAC-CO2) have announced a joint agreement to develop Canada’s CCS standard for the geological storage of industrial emissions. It is intended that the new standard will be used to promote adoption of international standards and will provide essential guidelines for regulators, industry and others around the world involved in CCS projects. View the press release.

14 June 2010

CCS report presented to G8

A new report by the International Energy Agency, the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum, and the Global CCS Institute will be presented to G8 leaders at their June Summit in Muskoka, Canada. The report’s main finding is that, although significant progress has been made, the 2008 Hokkaido G8 recommendation to launch 20 large-scale CCS demonstration projects by 2010 remains a challenge and will require governments and industry to accelerate the pace towards achieving this goal. View the press release.

11 June 2010

CO2Sense launches new network

CO2Sense Yorkshire has launched a free online network to enable businesses in Yorkshire and Humber to keep up to date with progress on CCS, find out what’s new and exchange ideas with other companies. CO2Sense Yorkshire is encouraging as many people as possible to become members. For more information please see www.co2sense.org.uk/networks.

8 June 2010

One North Sea study published

The North Sea Basin Task Force has published a new study into North Sea cross-border CO₂ transport and storage. The study, entitled One North Sea, highlights the potential for North Sea countries to become natural leaders in the development of CCS in Europe and finds that rapid deployment of large scale low cost CO₂ infrastructure by 2030 is technically feasible and necessary for full deployment of CCS. The report makes a number of recommendations on how this vision can be achieved. View the report.

3 June 2010

EU launches industrial initiative on CCS

The EU has launched a European Industrial Initiative (EII) on CCS, as part of the Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan. The CCS EII will be a model for collaboration between industry, EU Member States, the European Commission, the European Energy Research Alliance and other research institutes and NGOs. It has two key objectives: to ensure the cost competitive deployment of CCS after 2020 and its further development to allow its application to all carbon intensive industrial sectors. View the full story.

28 May 2010

PM recognises importance of CCS in first major speech

David Cameron has delivered his first major speech as Prime Minister today. Speaking in Yorkshire, the Prime Minister gave CCS as an example of major infrastructure projects that will begin in the next five years and that they have made long-term commitments to. He also said: “Let’s make Humberside lead the world in carbon capture and storage.” View the speech.

25 May 2010

France selects CCS projects

The French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME) will support the France Nord project, to transport and store CO2, and the Le Harve capture demonstration project. The France Nord project will examine the feasibility of installing a CO₂ transportation and storage demonstration infrastructure to be potentially used by several CO2-emitting industries. The project will run for 2 years and will include detailed technical studies to set a suitable geological site for storing CO₂ in deep saline aquifers. The €54-million France Nord project will be 40%-financed by ADEME from the research demonstrator fund and 60% by the other consortium partners. The same fund will support 25% of the €22 million Le Harve project, which will demonstration post-combustion capture technology at EDF’s power plant in Normandy. The project will run from 2010 to 2013. View the press release and a further press release.

12 May 2010

American Power Act unveiled

Senators John Kerry and Joe Liberman have introduced a new bill that aims to reform the American energy economy. The American Power Act includes a national strategy for CCS, emissions performance standards for new coal-fired power stations, proposals for annual incentives of $2 billion for CCS R&D and further incentives for the commercial deployment of 72 GW of CCS. View the press release.

12 May 2010

Dutch government announces funding for Rotterdam project

The Dutch government will provide subsidies of up to €150 million in the next ten years for the Rotterdam CCS project. This funding will be in addition to €180 million that was awarded to the project under the European economic recovery plan. View the full story.

12 May 2010

New coalition government sets out key energy policies

The Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition has set out key areas of agreement on energy and climate change policy. These include agreement to:

continue with the proposals for public sector investment in CCS technology at four coal-fired power stations
establish an emissions performance standard that will prevent coal-fired power stations from being built unless they are equipped with sufficient CCS to meet the standard
introduce a floor price for carbon, as well as working to persuade the EU to move towards full auctioning of ETS permits
create a green investment bank.

The Liberal Democrat MP, Chris Huhne has been announced as the new Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.
View the press release and a further press release.

6 April 2010

CO2QUALSTORE guidelines published

DNV and industry partners have developed and published the CO2QUALSTORE Guideline for Selection, Characterisation and Qualification of Sites and Projects for Geological Storage of CO₂. The guidelines provide a comprehensive and systematic process for storing CO₂ over the lifetime of a project, from screening and site selection to closure and handover to the state. Jørg Aarnes, project manager at DNV said: “The lack of tailored regulatory frameworks for CO₂ geological storage has threatened to delay large scale adoption of CCS. In addition to providing increased predictability for operators, the guideline will help governments to implement internationally harmonised regulatory frameworks for geological storage of CO₂. We therefore believe the CO2QUALSTORE guideline is a real breakthrough moment for CCS and should provide a step-change in the pace of CCS deployment.” View the press release.

31 March 2010

Four Kingdoms agreement reached to promote CCS

Norway, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia and the UK have agreed a plan to promote CCS through the Four Kingdoms Initiative. Norway’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy said that the aim of the cooperation is to achieve wider international recognition of CCS technologies and to work to make CCS commercially attractive. The agreement was made at the World Energy Forum in Mexico. View the full story.

25 March 2010

Funding announced for NSW CCS project

The Government of New South Wales has announced $28.3 million of funding to develop a CCS project in the region. The Delta Project, which is being jointly funded by Federal and State governments and the Australian Coal Association, will demonstrate integrated post combustion capture, transport and geological storage of CO₂. The project will store up to 100,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually and will build on the existing pilot plant at Delta’s Munmorah Power Station. View the press release.

24 March 2010

Study confirms benefits of CO₂ pipeline in Yorkshire

A new study, commissioned by CO2Sense Yorkshire and an industry group, has confirmed that a CO₂ pipeline network linking industrial emitters across Yorkshire and Humber would enable faster and more cost effective deployment of CCS in the region. The report concludes that constructing a pipeline network system out to an offshore storage location, with the capacity to initially carry 40 million tonnes of CO₂ per year, would lead to savings of £250m, costing approximately £650m to build in comparison with early CCS projects building individual ‘point to point’ pipelines which would cost £900m. The analysis undertaken also shows that investing in additional pipeline capacity in the initial phase of CCS development in the region would be cost effective even if subsequent projects do not join the network for up to 11 years. View the full story.

22 March 2010

Senators unveil bill to support CCS

Senators Jay Rockefeller and George Voinovich have unveiled a discussion draft of a bill designed to promote research and create incentives to develop and deploy full-scale CCS. The draft includes proposals for:

A CCS Innovation Program to authorise $850 million over 15 years for cooperative industry-government R&D
A CCS Pioneer Program to create incentives to rapidly deploy 20GW of CCS
A CCS Early Adopter Program to provide incentives in the form of tax credits based on capture CO₂ following the Pioneer Phase
Technology standards to be implemented after the completion of the first 10GW or in 2030
A placeholder for addressing liability issues whilst the two senators consider a number of options to clarify the long-term liability framework.

View the press release.

22 March 2010

ETI plans to invest £25m in CCS demonstration

The Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) has announced that it plans to invest £25 million in a new project to establish an advanced CO₂ capture technology demonstration. The proposed project would see the development of world-leading next generation capture technology to a stage where it has completed full-scale demonstration by 2015 and is ready for adoption into full-scale commercial power applications by 2020. A Request for Proposals, giving details of the project and what the ETI expects from potential consortia members, is due to be released on the ETI’s website on 31 March. View the press release.

17 March 2010

UK launches CCS Industrial Strategy, Office of CCS and pilot project

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has launched their CCS Industrial Strategy, which outlines the government’s approach to delivering CCS in the UK. This includes the first four demonstration projects, as well as further consideration on how to deliver CCS beyond the demonstration programme, developing the supply chain and skills to build a sustained CCS capability in the UK beyond 2030. According to the Strategy, the CCS industry could be worth up to £6.5bn and sustain up to 100,000 jobs by 2030. The proposals in the Strategy will be taken forward by the new Office of CCS (OCCS). Alongside the strategy, DECC also published two documents on the potential for CCS business clusters and the future industry potential for CO₂ storage in the UK. The Government also announced £6.3 million of funding for a 5MW pilot project at Ferrybridge in Yorkshire. The project is a collaboration between Scottish and Southern Energy, Doosan Babcock and Vattenfall. The Yorkshire and Humber region was announced to be the UK’s first Low Carbon Economic Area for CCS. View the press release.

12 March 2010

UK awards FEED study funding

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has awarded funding for Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) studies to both the remaining entrants in the UK’s current CCS competition. The projects are at Kingsnorth, led by E.ON and at Longannet, led by ScottishPower. The studies will be completed within a year, after which the final competition winner will be announced. Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Ed Miliband said: “These two promising projects are at the forefront of the UK’s efforts to build one of the first commercial-scale clean coal plants in the world. The award of design-stage funding demonstrates our commitment to this breakthrough technology. It has the potential to support tens of thousands of jobs and bring billions into the economy.” View the press release.

9 March 2010

DOE awards $154m to Texas CCS demonstration

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has selected NRG Energy’s CCS demonstration project in Texas to receive $154 million under the third round of the Clean Coal Power Initiative. The 60 MW post-combustion capture project will demonstrate the integration of several technologies including Fluor’s advanced Econamine FG PlusSM capture process, Ramgen’s CO₂ compression system, the integration of highly efficient co-generation to provide the necessary steam and electricity, and enhanced oil recovery in one of the Texas Gulf Coast oilfields near the plant. View the press release.

1 March 2010

E.ON submits scoping reports for CO₂ pipeline

E.ON has submitted environmental scoping reports outlining the company’s plans for a CO₂ pipeline from its proposed Kingsnorth power station. The pipeline would have sufficient capacity in the long term to allow a ‘Thames Cluster' of CCS projects to be developed, transporting 24 million tonnes of CO₂ each year to storage sites under the North Sea. This equates to the emissions from around two supercritical Kingsnorth-sized coal-fired power stations and three Grain-sized gas-fired CHP power stations. Final plans are expected to be submitted to Medway Council towards the end of this year, as part of a full pipeline planning application. View the press release.

1 March 2010

CER calls for EU action on CCS

The Centre for European Reform has launched a new report entitled Carbon Capture and Storage: What the EU needs to do. The report argues that more public money is needed for the construction of demonstration projects, and that regulation and strong market signals will be required to ensure wide scale deployment of CCS. The report calls for demonstration at both gas and coal-fired plants, greater certainty about the scale and timing of public funds for CCS, intervention to bolster the carbon price, regulation to make CCS mandatory once proven and the creation of clusters of CCS projects. View the press release.

19 February 2010

UN launches CCS roadmap project

The UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy and the GCCSI have announced a new joint project to develop a technology roadmap for CCS. The €500,000 project will be completed by the end of 2010, and aims to inform policymakers and investors about the potential of CCS and the practical milestones that need to be achieved to realise that potential. View the press release.

3 February 2010

US announces CCS task force

President Obama has announced the creation of an Interagency Task Force on Carbon Capture and Storage, which will develop a comprehensive and coordinated federal strategy to speed the development and deployment of clean coal technologies. The President calls for five to ten commercial demonstration projects to be operational by 2016. To achieve this, the Task Force aims to develop within 180 days a plan to overcome the barriers to the deployment of widespread affordable CCS within 10 years. View the press release.

2 February 2010

One North East publishes CCS prospectus

One North East has published an ambitious prospectus for the development of CCS in the North East of England. The document identifies the region’s strengths and future plans for CCS, including the potential for a cluster of projects to be established by 2015, and highlights the potential for major investment and job creation in the region. View the full story.

2 February 2010

EU agrees NER split

An agreement has been reached on how to disperse the 300 million allowances set aside from the New Entrants Reserve of the EU ETS to fund CCS and innovative renewable projects. The vote that took place on Tuesday was seen by many as the last chance to secure a deal on the issue. View the full story.

20 January 2010

Five CCS projects share $29m in Victoria

Five CCS projects in Victoria, Australia, are to share up to $29 million in funding as part of the Victorian Government’s $110 million Energy Technology Innovation Strategy (ETIS) fund. The funding includes:

$19 million towards the development of a multi-user CO₂ transport and storage system. The system is being developed by a consortium of Carbon Store Australia, TRUenergy and Mitsubishi Corporation;
Up to $3.5 million to investigate the feasibility of building a small-scale plant at an existing brown coal power station that would capture and mineralise CO₂ into materials to be used in the building industry. The project is being developed by Calera;
Up to $2 million to investigate the feasibility of a large-scale, gasification, pre-combustion CO₂ capture project being developed by TRUenergy and Southern Company;
Up to $3.5 million to investigate the feasibility of a pre-combustion capture project being developed by HRL; and
Up to $1 million to investigate the feasibility of a retro-fitted large-scale, post-combustion carbon capture plant at Loy Yang A Power Station being developed by Loy Yang Power, Mitsubishi and TRUenergy.

View the press release.

13 January 2010

US DOE publishes CCS communications manual

The US Department of Energy’s Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships programme has published a new manual entitled Best Practices for Public Outreach and Education for Carbon Storage Projects. The recommendations are based on lesson learned during the first six years of the partnerships programme and are intended to provide guidance on designing and conducting effective public outreach activities. View the press release.

11 January 2010

Total inaugurates Lacq project

Total has inaugurated Europe’s first full chain CCS demonstration project at Lacq, in France. The €60 million facility uses oxyfuel combustion technology to capture CO2, that is then transported 27 km from the Lacq plant to Rousse where it is injected into a depleted natural gas reservoir 4,500m below ground. Around 120,000 tonnes of CO₂ will be captured and stored over the next two years. View the press release.

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2010

29 December

West Texas Plant Receives Air Quality Permit

24 December

US EPA Creates Timetable to Curb Emissions

21 December

UK Demonstration Programme Update

21 December

Bellona: Greece Could Save Billions with CCS

21 December

MHI Licenses CO2 Recovery Tech for Fertilizers

21 December

Alstom Process Selected for CCS Plant in Romania

21 December

NER300 Call for Proposals Update

20 December

ZeroGen CCS Plant Cancelled

20 December

FutureGen: Four Communities Shortlisted

17 December

China and Australia CCS Feasibility Study

17 December

Outotec Commissions CO2 Removal Plant

17 December

Basin Electric Power Cancels capture project

16 December

New Consultations to Reform Electricity Market

15 December

New CCS Consortium Formed by Ayrshire Power

10 December

DECC CCS Consultation on Third Party Access Provisions and Infrastructure

10 December

ExxonMobil Expands CCS Plant

10 December

SaskPower Defers Decision on Capture Project

9 December

Powerfuel Calls in Administrators

9 December

DECC publish report on CO2 Storage and EOR

9 December

DECC Guidance on EU NER300 Competition Released

9 December

UK Energy Bill Released

7 December

CCC report on Fourth Carbon Budget

7 December

6 December

Chiyoda wins EPC CCS Contract

6 December

Positive Developments on CCS in Cancun

3 December

GreenGen Plant to Operate by End of 2011

3 December

ICIS Heren Quotes CEO of CCSA

2 December

CO2 Capture Begins in Queensland

1 December

Alberta Passes Bill 24, The Carbon Capture and Storage Statutes Amendment Act 2010

30 November

Global CCS Institute Blog for CCS Week, Australia

30 November

JEC Receives National Grid Contracts

30 November

Powerfuel and Calix announce Joint Venture

30 November

Shenhua Plan to Store Carbon in 2011

30 November

Australian Govt Releases Clean Power Discussion Paper

30 November

Masdar has announced plans to award a contract in 2011 to build a CO2 pipeline network

29 November

$5M for Project Pioneer, Alberta

29 November

Aker Clean Carbon wins CCS Contract

28 November

Kuwait’s First CO2 Capture Project

24 November

MHI Licenses CO₂ Recovery Tech for Fertilizers

Outotec Commissions CO₂ Removal Plant

DECC publish report on CO₂ Storage and EOR

CO₂ Capture Begins in Queensland

Masdar has announced plans to award a contract in 2011 to build a CO₂ pipeline network

Kuwait’s First CO₂ Capture Project

BP Uses Remote Sensing to Monitor Stored CO₂

US DOE Sposored Field Tests into CO₂ Storage in Lignite Seams

Alberta Government Assumes Long Term Liabilities of CO₂ Storage