What really makes CCS a misdirected research strategy, though, is that it will cause efficiency losses of at least 10% for capture, and a few more for transport and sequestration. The European Commission estimates a 35% net efficiency for a demonstration project to be launched in 2015, as opposed to a 45-47% current net efficiency for new coal plants without CCS.
Those ten percent being, in other words, ten percentage points, or around 22 % of the useful output at the efficiencies posted. Meaning that we'll need not another 11 % power generation capacity, but another 33 % (give or take a bit).
- Jake If you only spend 20 minutes of the rest of your life on economics, go spend them here.
There's a relevant news item on the EU's CCS project in the European Voice from today:
Germany, France and the UK want say over spending, but CCS advocates fear set-back for technology. The EU's bigger member states are seeking to wrest control over demonstration carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects worth billions of euros away from the European Commission. The EU has already decided that it wants 12 CCS demonstration plants up and running by 2015 as part of its efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions. EU leaders earmarked €1.05 billion for CCS under the EU's economic recovery plan and agreed that the proceeds from selling allowances for 300 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the emissions trading scheme will be available for CCS and `innovative' renewable energy projects - although it is acknowledged more funding will be needed.
The EU's bigger member states are seeking to wrest control over demonstration carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects worth billions of euros away from the European Commission.
The EU has already decided that it wants 12 CCS demonstration plants up and running by 2015 as part of its efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions. EU leaders earmarked €1.05 billion for CCS under the EU's economic recovery plan and agreed that the proceeds from selling allowances for 300 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the emissions trading scheme will be available for CCS and `innovative' renewable energy projects - although it is acknowledged more funding will be needed.
