19-02-2009 Analytikere forventer CCS boom som følge af den amerikanske stimuluspakke Environmental Finance Publications London, 19 February: Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has received a fillip from the US, with $3.5 billion earmarked in President Barack Obama’s stimulus package for demonstration projects and growing support at the state level. The extra money for CCS in the $787 billion federal stimulus package increases US funding for projects by 70%, to more than $8 billion, according to Emerging Energy Research (EER). And the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based analysis company notes that several states have passed legislation to incentivise CCS. Illinois, for example, has passed a Clean Coal Portfolio Law, which requires utilities to source 5% of the state’s electricity supply from coal-fired power stations which capture and store the carbon dioxide (CO2) they emit, when such plants are built. Alex Klein, research director at EER, said: “The fact that individual states have begun to take the lead in CCS policy creates an even greater mandate for these demonstration projects.” Governments worldwide have set aside more than $20 billion for CCS demonstration plants, EER said in a report published last week. This includes $11.6 billion in funding promised by the EU. Nearly 120 large-scale demonstration plants are in development, with activity concentrated in western Europe, the US, western Canada and Australia. The funding available could support more than 30 large-scale projects, but Klein is expecting a high drop-out rate, with only 10-20 out of the current pipeline being built. A number of projects have already been cancelled “and that’s going to continue, unquestionably”, Klein added. Although some cancellations are due to companies proposing projects that they do not have the resources to carry out, some cancellations are due to technical and practical reasons. For example, he said, the BP and Rio Tinto collaboration Hydrogen Energy put forward five projects over two years, and has cancelled three, then proposed another two, as the venture encountered problems including potential sequestration sites and locations. On its website, Hydrogen Energy said: “We have faced substantial challenges to do with financial incentive and regulatory framework issues, as well as the technology. These are the growing pains of a new industry and we see ourselves as pioneers in this exciting new area.” “If coal is to maintain its share in the global power generation mix over the next two decades, its carbon emissions must be mitigated through the capture of CO2,” said Klein. “Carbon sequestration is finding its way into power generation
strategies as energy companies across the value chain wrestle with the
likelihood of impending carbon regulations, continuing natural gas price
volatility, potential capacity shortfalls and the need to retire existing
coal plants,” he added. Kilde: Environmental
Finance |