Review of the Feasibility of CO2 Capture and Storage in the UK

George Marsh (George.Marsh@dti.gsi.gov.uk ) is an advisor to the DTI on carbon capture and storage issues, and acted as rapporteur to the Government's CO2 Capture and Storage Feasibility Study Advisory Group. Here he outlines the principal objectives and findings of the Advisory Group's report published in September 2003. The full text can be viewed here.

The UK Government's Energy White Paper published in March 2003 (http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/whitepaper/ourenergyfuture.pdf) recognised the longer term strategic importance of CO2 Capture and Storage (CCS), as a potentially valuable contribution to the achievement of its target for a 60% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Prior to this (in September 2002) the DTI announced a study to establish the technical and commercial feasibility of CO2 capture and storage as a low carbon option, together with the legal framework and the potential contribution it could make to the UK carbon abatement targets.

The advisory group reported its findings in September 2003 (http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/coal/cfft/co2capture/review.pdf).

Summary of Key Findings

Fossil fuels will continue to be a major source of energy for the UK (and worldwide) well into the timeframe when substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are required. CCS, using for example integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plants ( http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/coal/cfft/cctdemo/presentedsf.pdf ) and storing the CO2 in depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs, enables the continued use of fossil fuels while making major cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, thus giving a longer timeframe to achieve a transition to fully sustainable energy sources and energy utilisation processes.

Schematic of Progressive Energy's Design for a 460 MW IGCC Power Station at Drym, Wales , UK (Click for larger view)

The UK has access to substantial carbon dioxide storage capacity in the North Sea in deep saline aquifers and depleted oil and gas fields. The latter are important to the early implementation of CCS because they are accessible from existing production wells and their geology is known. To meet the 60% reduction target by 2050, large-scale deployment of CCS may be needed for electricity generation and hydrogen production from about 2020. Earlier deployment could occur to tie in with the pattern of electricity plant replacement and CCS in combination with Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) could be implemented from around 2010.

Current costs for CCS compare favourably with other large-scale abatement options with appreciable potential for future reductions through innovation. However, oil producers will not implement EOR under current market conditions without additional financial incentives. These incentives will need to be substantial because EOR will be assessed relative to other more attractive international investment opportunities.

One potential option would be to gain credit for the CO2 abated. The EU Emissions Trading Scheme may, in principle, offer a way to do this, through the proposed linking arrangement to project-based mechanisms, but greenhouse gas inventory methodologies must be established before CCS can be accepted into this or other measures compatible with the Kyoto Protocol. In any case, permit prices are unlikely to be sufficient for CCS including EOR in the near term. Consequently, alternative support measures will be needed to encourage any demonstration of CCS.

Although not commercially competitive, storage of CO2 in depleted oil reservoirs combined with EOR yields some financial return to offset partially the cost of capture and transportation. It therefore offers a lower cost option for a large-scale demonstration of CCS. However, EOR needs to be implemented before cessation of conventional oil production, and with many of the UK 's oil fields at a mature stage of production, action would need to be initiated before about 2010. Note, however, that the current knowledge base is insufficient to support reliable assessments of the integrity of long-term geological storage.

Under existing treaties, EOR is permitted, and sequestration from certain pipelines originating from land would appear not to be prohibited under the requirements of the London Convention/Protocol and OSPAR Convention governing disposal under the North Sea . However, these preclude the use of existing offshore installations for sequestration without EOR. Given that the North Sea is bounded by another five countries ( Norway , Denmark , Germany , The Netherlands and Belgium ) storage of CO2 cannot be treated as a UK issue alone. Co-operation with these countries will be important not only to reach agreement on CO2 storage but also on the regulatory regime, which will need to be developed.

At present there is no commercial electricity generation plant in the world using CO2 separation and capture technologies. However, there is already a large international interest in the development and demonstration of CCS. The UK participates in number of international forums designed to make this a reality.

Recommendations

The Energy White Paper included a commitment to set up an urgent detailed implementation plan to establish what needs to be done to get an EOR demonstration project off the ground. Such a demonstration could extend to the full-scale capture and transport of CO2, which is an important step in the commercial development of CCS, and would provide a showcase for UK technology.

The DTI has completed a survey of stakeholders concerned with such a demonstration and is finalising its plan. Its report should be available at the end of March 2004 at http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/coal/cfft/co2capture/index.shtml.

A broad strategy for progressive reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to meet the target of 60% reduction by 2050 would be expected to contain measures to improve energy efficiency and the uptake of renewable energy sources, with large-scale deployment of CCS being required from about 2020 onwards. However, two factors may lead to earlier deployment. Firstly EOR as discussed above, and secondly the normal replacement of capital stock in electricity generation, which may permit the construction of plant suited to carbon capture. This presents a major opportunity for the UK to create a world leading low carbon energy design, construction and skills capability. To ensure the technology is available and cost effective when it is needed, more work is required to resolve a range of technical, legal, regulatory, economic, environmental and public acceptability issues. The report recommended that a new fossil fuel carbon abatement technologies programme be developed to complement or possibly replace the existing Cleaner Coal Technology Programme, to include development activities for CO2 capture and storage.

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