REGINA, Saskatchewan, June 01, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Amplifying the impact of emission reductions through carbon capture and storage (CCS) is the focus of a new pre-feasibility study exploring the potential application of carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture on 750-megawatt coal-fired power plants. This project is part of a broad study examining the viability of a regional commercial-scale geologic CO₂ storage hub in the Southeastern U.S. The International CCS Knowledge Centre (Knowledge Centre), based in Regina, SK Canada, is collaborating with an international team on the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)-funded project to develop the conceptual designs and capital cost estimates evaluating the installation of post combustion carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture on a Southern Company electrical generating station.

The project would represent a significant scale-up and is a natural progression in the maturation of carbon capture technology. By bringing leadership, vision and experience based on its substantive learnings from both the fully integrated Boundary Dam 3 CCS Facility and its comprehensive second-generation CCS study (Shand CCS Feasibility Study), the Knowledge Centre is performing the carbon capture pre-feasibility study of the scenario. This study is being conducted through a cooperative agreement with the project manager, Southern States Energy Board, and a team that includes Southern Company, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group, and Stantec Consulting Ltd.

This study is part of the project, Establishing An Early Carbon Dioxide Storage: Project ECO₂S, under a broad DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory initiative, Carbon Storage Assurance Facility Enterprise (CarbonSAFE). CarbonSAFE addresses key gaps on the critical path toward CCUS deployment by reducing technical risk, uncertainty, and cost of a geologic storage complex for more than 50 million metric tons of CO₂ over a 30-year time frame from industrial sources.

The pre-feasibility study will look at carbon capture design and cost. It will include details such as an analysis on steam integration options between the generating unit and the capture plant, as well as the identification of potential impacts of the new processes on existing plant environmental permitting. The theoretical installation of carbon capture systems at power plants would not only ensure reliable baseload electricity, it would preserve the value of the existing facility, while also actively making significant strides in reducing anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.

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“With the megatonne potential in CO₂ reduction, we are excited to work with a great team on this important and next step project for large-scale carbon capture and storage. We applaud both the US Department of Energy and the Southern States Energy Board for their commitment to taking significant strides toward climate action.”

– Conway Nelson, VP, Project Development & Advisory Services, International CCS Knowledge Centre

“Stantec is proud to play a role in the first-of-its kind carbon capture and storage work in Saskatchewan as the Engineer of Record on this project. Stantec’s team of experts will provide engineering expertise alongside our partners to execute the pre-feasibility study stage of this project.”

– Mark Griffiths, Senior Principal, Energy & Resources, Stantec, Saskatchewan

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Climate Change Links

• CCS is considered essential in three of the four pathways to keep global warming within 1.5°C – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: Global Warming of 1.5 Degrees Celsius
• Most of the world cannot meet emissions targets without CCS – and for those that can, the median increase in mitigation cost is 138% – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: IPCC AR5 2014

• International Energy Agency (IEA): Carbon Capture and Storage and IEA’s Energy Technology Perspectives: 2020 Special Report on CCUS

About CarbonSAFE & Project ECO₂S

• CarbonSAFE – Carbon Storage Assurance Facility Enterprise Initiative – is a DOE-led program designed to accelerate commercial-scale use of CCS technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere from industrial and power generation sources by focusing on the development of permanent and safe geologic CO₂ storage sites capable of several decades of usage.
• Project ECO₂S – Establishing an Early CO₂ Storage Complex – is one of five selected projects for Phase 3 of CarbonSAFE.
  • Project ECO₂S lead by Southern States Energy Board is working with collaborators to explore establishing a commercial-scale, regional, secure geologic area capable of securely storing over 900 million metric tons of CO₂.
  • The current pre-feasibility study to install post combustion CO₂ capture on a Southern Company generating unit is part of the assessment required to confirm one of several point source emitters of CO₂ for the storage site.

MEDIA CONTACTS

International CCS Knowledge Centre
Jodi Woollam
Head of Communications & Media Relations
[email protected]
T: +1-306-565-5956 / M: +1-306-520-3710
ccsknowledge.com
@CCSKnowledge

About the International CCS Knowledge Centre (Knowledge Centre): with a mandate to advance the global understanding and deployment of large-scale CCS to reduce global GHG emissions, the Knowledge Centre provides the know-how to implement large-scale CCS projects as well as CCS optimization through the base learnings from both the fully-integrated Boundary Dam 3 CCS Facility and the comprehensive second-generation CCS study, known as the Shand CCS Feasibility Study. Operating since 2016 under the direction of an independent board, the Knowledge Centre was established by BHP and SaskPower. For more info: https://ccsknowledge.com/