North America leads CCS development

• 11 years ago (2012-05-29)
• Junior Isles

Europe 1061 North America 998

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Analysis by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) estimates that the world’s first carbon capture and storage (CCS) unit will start operation in the US in 2013.

North America holds the top four places in BNEF’s ‘Race to First’ semi-annual ranking of the world’s most advanced carbon capture and storage projects.

The study found that US and Canadian projects had access to more public funding, lower storage costs and more options for enhanced oil recovery than those elsewhere.

Of the 24 projects qualifying for the H1 2012 edition of ‘Race to First’, five North American and three European ventures will begin operation in the next five years, BNEF predicts. They are estimated to have an aggregate annual injection rate of 16.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide a year (MtCO2/yr).

Pennsylvania-based Air Products & Chemicals is the current CCS frontrunner with its Port Arthur demonstration project in Texas. The project will capture 1 MtCO2/yr from two steam methane reformers at Texas-based Valero Energy Corporation's Port Arthur refinery.

It will sell this carbon dioxide to Texas-based Denbury Resources for use in enhanced oil recovery operations. The project is on track for full operation in Q1 2013 at a capital cost of $431m.

Second place in the ‘Race to First’ is Canadian state-owned utility SaskPower’s project at the Boundary Dam Power Plant in Saskatchewan. This government-industry partnership is worth $1.25 billion and is expected to be completed in early 2014.

Europe’s preeminent project in the race is German utility E.On’s project at the Maasvlakte coal-fired plant in Rotterdam, Netherlands to capture 1.1 MtCO2/yr from 250 MW of power capacity, which is fifth in the global list.

“It has been clear for years that if the world’s industrial and power generation sectors are not to see a large part of their asset base rendered obsolete, they need carbon capture and storage to work. But not one large-scale, end-to-end project has yet been built, and the technologies still have to prove their cost-effectiveness. Our ‘Race to First’ report shows that very soon the first projects will go live, and we will start getting the first real data on performance. The stakes couldn’t be higher,” commented Michael Liebreich, chief executive of Bloomberg New Energy Finance.