Brussels, 08/10/2014 (Agence Europe) - In the Boundary Dam coal-fired power station in Estevan, in the province of Saskatchewan, Canadian public electricity generator SaskPower launched the first carbon capture and storage (CCS) project of global importance, on 2 October. If it proves conclusive, this close to €1 billion project could fuel fresh interest in the use of coal to generate electricity at a time when, for reasons of climate, several countries are shutting their old, polluting coal power stations. With a capacity of 110 megawatts, the old Boundary Dam power plant has been equipped with technology that allows it to capture CO2 in its smoke emissions and store it underground or inject it into oil fields to enhance oil recovery. The project will trap one million tonnes of CO2 per year, equivalent to removing 250,000 cars from the roads.
Similar projects are underway in Canada, the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Australia. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has hailed this “historic milestone” in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Coal-fired power stations produce 40% of the world's electricity but are also responsible for almost 30% of carbon emissions. According to the IEA, without CCS technology, two thirds of the world's recoverable oil reserves could not be used for fear of exceeding the 2 degrees Celsius threshold set to mitigate the impact of climate change.
Boundary Dam “is a trailblazer for industry around the world and timely as Europe engages in concrete and important discussions around European energy and climate policies. Boundary Dam is a great example showing what can be achieved when industry and government come together for such an important cause”, said Dr Graeme Sweeney, chairman of the Zero Emissions Platform, a European coalition that supports CCS. “Europe will closely follow the progress on Boundary Dam, especially in light of promising advancements on European-based projects such as White Rose and Peterhead in the UK, ROAD in the Netherlands, and others. EU institutions and member states will need to put in place transitional support measures for CCS”, he insisted. (EH)