What is your opinion-reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in context of the future investments in coal burning PG and still costly CCS system?

There are several projects in North America, either now operational or due to be later, based on carbon capture from plants producing ethanol, hydrogen and fertiliser, as well as natural gas processing (all sources of flue gas with high CO2 concentrations).

Within Europe, the first phase of the ‘NER300’, the mechanism to disperse funds from the sales of 300 million EU ETS permits from the New Entrant Reserve, awarded €1.2 billion for renewables but did not fund any CCS projects, although it remains possible that it may do so in the second phase.

http://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/CCC-Prog-Rep_Chap2_singles_web_1.pdf

Dear colleagues,

Thank you very much for your opinion and for sharing your point of view. These information are very useful.

question/dilemma: Geological storage of CO2 as a measure for reduction of greenhouse gases emission ??!! The EU decided to be the leader in reduction of greenhouse gases emission, in order to reduce global emission by 50% by 2050. One of the measures for reduction of CO2 (main greenhouse gas) emissions into the atmosphere is geological storage of CO2 obtained from fossil fuel combustion primarly in thermal power plants. This is why the EU has adopted CCS Directive (Directive 2009/31/EC). But ... because of the price of technology, processes in the underground after injection is still not biding for EU Member States.

Dear @Darko, here are some quick facts on carbon capture and storage! They have good experience in USA!

"Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies can capture up to 90 percent of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from a power plant or industrial facility and store them in underground geologic formations.

Carbon capture has been established for some industrial processes, but it is still a relatively expensive technology that is just reaching maturity for power generation and other industrial processes.

There are twelve active commercial-scale CCS projects at industrial facilities around the world (eight of those projects are in the U.S.), and approximately 50 additional projects are in various stages of development around the world (Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute project list).

The world’s first commercial-scale CCS power plant, SaskPower's Boundary Dam Power Station in Saskatchewan, Canada, will become operational in October 2014. Two additional CCS power plants are under construction - Southern Company’s Kemper County Energy Facility in Mississippi and NRG's Petra Nova project in Texas.

There is a growing market for utilizing captured CO2, primarily in enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR). Selling captured CO2 provides a valuable revenue source to help overcome the high costs and financial risks of initial CCS projects.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that CCS can achieve 14 percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions reductions needed by 2050 to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius (IEA CCS Roadmap).

CCS can allow fossil fuels, such as coal and natural gas, to remain part of our energy mix, by limiting the emissions from their use."

Some more links follow!

http://www.c2es.org/technology/factsheet/CCS

http://www.c2es.org/docUploads/CCS-framework.pdf

http://www.c2es.org/publications/greenhouse-gas-accounting-framework-carbon-capture-and-storage-projects

Miranda Yeoh

Dear friends, I'm concerned about this matter, because I'm in a country where forests have been removed such a lot. They should be the natural carbon capture plants. We still use fossil fuels although hydroelectricity is also quite significant. I should share with you that on Sunday afternoons when I drive back to college, there is usually a large trail of black smoke moving upwards from the vents of some industrial or agricultural 'ovens'.

We do not have CCS systems yet. 'Carbon capture and storage (CCS) (or carbon capture and sequestration) is the process of capturing waste carbon dioxide (CO2) from large point sources, such as fossil fuel power plants, transporting it to a storage site, and depositing it where it will not enter the atmosphere, normally an underground geological formation. The aim is to prevent the release of large quantities of CO2 into the atmosphere'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_capture_and_storage

Nizar Matar

Coal has been used & will still be used (for years to come) in power generation. This fuel is highly polluting & there are no sound reasonable means, at present, to curb its harmful effects. The trouble, with governments, is that they do not generally support a research that will improve things after , say, 10 years. The governments usually move when the danger becomes so close or when a catastrophe occurs.

Shell plans to use advanced technology to capture carbon dioxide for the first time from oil sands operations in Canada and store it safely underground.

http://www.shell.com/global/environment-society/environment/climate-change/carbon-capture-storage.html

Dear @Darko, I have just received info about this good resource! Maybe it touches a thread a bit, but I find it as important.

http://store.powermag.com/technologies-for-converting-biomass-to-useful-energy.html

Climate Change – The Science

http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Energy-and-Environment/Climate-Change---The-Science/

"The oceans are a critical part of the climate system, with vastly greater thermal capacity than the atmosphere. Most of the net energy increase in the climate system in recent decades is stored in the oceans. A small, slow increase in their temperature is significant."

Large Scale CCS Projects

http://www.globalccsinstitute.com/projects/large-scale-ccs-projects#overview

"... Globally, there are 14 large-scale CCS projects in operation, with a further eight under construction. The 22 projects in operation or under construction represents a doubling since the start of this decade. The total CO2 capture capacity of these 22 projects is around 40 million tonnes per annum.There are another 11 large-scale CCS projects at the most advanced stage of development planning, the Concept Definition (or Define) stage, with a total CO2 capture capacity of around 15 million tonnes per annum. A further 12 large-scale CCS projects are in earlier stages of development planning (the Evaluate and Identify stages) and have a total CO2 capture capacity of around 25 million tonnes per annum..."

Britain shows that world can cut carbon emissions and still get richer, says PwC!

"The world’s carbon intensity fell by 2.7pc last year. While this was the fastest rate seen to date, it is well off the annual 6.3pc rate needed to prevent global warming of 2°C, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s target.

However, PwC’S Jonathan Grant, director of sustainability and climate change, said the results were promising. The world economy grew by 3.3pc while carbon emissions were up just 0.5pc, with Mr Grant suggesting the two had “uncoupled”.

“The analysis indicates positive signs of 'uncoupling’ or economies that can grow while reducing or maintaining a the same level, their carbon emissions per unit of GDP,” he said.

“Breaking the link between emissions and economic growth is essential to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.”"

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11925391/Britain-shows-that-world-can-cut-carbon-emissions-and-still-get-richer-says-PwC.html

Suck it up: Carbon capture technologies may be able to remedy climate change

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2015/0715/Suck-it-up-Carbon-capture-technologies-may-be-able-to-remedy-climate-change

"Scientists are developing new devices that can literally suck carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. They say that this carbon capture and storage is a necessary tool for avoiding catastrophic climate change."

Companies Struggle to Make Carbon Capture Viable!

"Global efforts moved a step forward late last year after a Canadian power plant became the first facility in the world to use carbon capturing technology on an industrial scale. The plant, which received sizable financial backing from the Canadian government, now traps up to 90 percent of its carbon dioxide, the equivalent of taking about 250,000 cars off the road each year..."

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/06/business/energy-environment/companies-struggle-to-make-carbon-capture-viable.html?_r=0

"The surprise climate deal between U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping is nothing more than hot air. It’s a public relations victory for the leaders of the world’s two biggest greenhouse gas emitters (China is number one, the U.S. number two), but nothing else. In theory, it’s a boost to efforts by the United Nations to reach a global agreement to reduce emissions in Paris a year from now, but practically speaking it does nothing to lower emissions. This negotiated-in-secret deal is merely a statement of aspirational goals by the U.S. and China."

Source: Toronto Sun

Can be achieved when there is a combined interventions on 4 pillars

Technology

Operations

Infrastructure

Economic Measures

http://corporate.airfrance.com/fileadmin/dossiers/img_rte_fr/IATA.pdf

Fine example dear @Krishnan. A global approach to reducing aviation emissions is good article. I was not aware of aviation emissions and their impact.

Want to Burn Coal and Save the Planet? Japan Touts a Solution

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-10/want-to-burn-coal-and-save-the-planet-japan-touts-a-solution

"Japan’s government and industry are backing emerging coal technologies they say are less damaging to the environment. While they’re pushing the most polluting fossil fuel at home and abroad, Japan’s government will be trying to burnish its environmental credentials at climate talks that begin at the end of the month in Paris..."

This is amazing story about lack of power!

"The United Nations, the World Bank and the international Energy Agency have all made estimates of the number of people in the world without any electricity service today. That estimate is somewhere around 1.3-1.5 billion out of the current global population of around 7 billion. Only 2 billion have “adequate” electricity and the rest have intermittent and unreliable electric service. Two recent articles made me ponder this issue on lack of electricity or lack of adequate electricity service - power..."

Dear @Darko, coal is no 1. energy source in Serbia!

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/hard-truth-enough-power-branko-d-terzic?trk=hb_ntf_MEGAPHONE_ARTICLE_POST

Power cuts, searing summer renders India to fanning with one’s hands

http://www.americanbazaaronline.com/2014/06/12/power-cuts-searing-summer-renders-india-fanning-ones-hands/

Coal Plants Without CCS Can Meet EPA Standards, EPRI Study Says!

"Certain types of coal-fired power plants are capable of meeting the 636 kg CO2/MWh emissions limit in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) new source performance standards for existing plants without relying on carbon capture and storage (CCS), but doing so will require leveraging cutting-edge technologies to improve efficiency, according to a new study from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI).

The general assumption underlying the EPA’s Clean Power Plan is that coal plants will need to deploy CCS to meet the standards. But CCS development has been both slow and fraught with setbacks. In the study, Can Future Coal Power Plants Meet CO2 Emission Standards Without Carbon Capture & Storage?, the EPRI looked at whether other technologies exist or are in development that could lower CO2 emissions enough to allow coal plants without CCS to meet the standards. “[T]he answer,” says the study, “is a qualified ‘yes.’”..."

http://www.powermag.com/coal-plants-without-ccs-can-meet-epa-standards-epri-study-says/?hq_e=el&hq_m=3178351&hq_l=3&hq_v=3b171a1d10

Although programmes and strategic documents of the EU strongly emphasise the role of gas to be used for the production of base energy, as an additional source of flexibility and security of power system in the production of electric power when the production from renewable energy sources is not possible, there are no clear guidelines as to how to encourage higher demand for gas. We are therefore witnessing a paradoxical situation in which coal is used to produce electric power instead of gas, so year after year demand for gas used to produce electric power decreases.

Since thermal power, especially from coal, is an important source of local pollutants and GHGs, the decarbonization of power sector is of significance for the achievement of low-carbon development. The

http://unsdsn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/DDPP_interim_2014_report_China_chapter.pdf

Interview: Stern on Gas Supplies, Markets in the Year ahead

http://www.naturalgaseurope.com/interview-stern-on-gas-supplies-markets-in-the-year-ahead-27718

The chairman of the gas research department of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, Jonathan Stern, spoke to NGE about the state of the gas market, at the European Gas Conference in Vienna on January 20.

How do you see the prospects for natural gas consumption in Europe in the wake of COP21?

"I'm not sure that COP21 makes a big difference. At OIES we do take notice of what people say, but we take a lot more notice of what they do. So what we were thinking we'd see post COP21 were major announcements about the limitations of coal in Europe, major announcements about spending very much more money on renewables, and on carbon capture and storage (CCS) – in other words, throwing money at the problem, because if we don't do that you don't see everything changing very quickly.It will change of course, but the problem with COP is that it's fine for politicians to make declarations when they get together. Once they get back to their countries, normal life resumes and these things fall back into the place on the agenda they were once in.We haven't seen a big change of agendas from anybody – in Europe, in Asia, in the US. Essentially, we see countries carrying on doing what they were doing. There's been a bit of pulling back of the subsidies for renewables; not much seen on investment in low carbon technologies that wasn't happening before. Maybe we'll have a huge breakthrough in electricity storage, or in CCS, or something like that which would make a big difference. But if we are going to get a big breakthrough, it's going to be on the same level of funding we've been having. We don't see a big change."

"By the time we see that climate change is really bad, your ability to fix it is extremely limited... The carbon gets up there, but the heating effect is delayed. And then the effect of that heat on the species and ecosystem is delayed. That means that even when you turn virtuous, things are actually going to get worse for quite a while."

Bill Gates

'Underground Battery' Could Tap Geothermal Energy, Store CO2

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2016/01/underground-battery-could-tap-geothermal-energy-store-co2.html

"Meeting the goal of limiting the increase in the global average temperature to well below two degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels will require increased use of renewable energy and reducing the CO2 intensity of fossil energy use.

The intermittency of when the wind blows and when the sun shines is one of the biggest challenges impeding the widespread integration of renewable energy into electric grids, while the cost of capturing CO2 and storing it permanently underground is a big challenge for decarbonizing fossil energy..."

We have the technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions!

"Today the power is in our hands to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon-reducing technologies, ongoing innovation and universal Internet access combined with the demands of an enlightened population promise a radical transformation in how energy is generated, stored, transmitted and consumed. Positive change is happening. Now we must accelerate it...

One way to do so would be to adopt a global mechanism for pricing carbon. Governments, businesses and citizens all understand that emitting greenhouse gases is not “free” – it comes at a cost to the environment that is threatening our very existence. Putting a price on these emissions will further reward organizations that understand sustainability is more than a marketing slogan. As UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said, “There is no ‘Planet B’.” Sustainable practices are the only way to do business on Planet A."

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/we-have-technology-reduce-greenhouse-gas-emissions-tricoire?trkInfo=VSRPsearchId%3A577811291453468153686%2CVSRPtargetId%3A6078545689263038464%2CVSRPcmpt%3Aprimary&trk=vsrp_influencer_content_res_name

http://www.schneider-electric.com/b2b/en/campaign/climate-change/overview.jsp

http://www.iea.org/newsroomandevents/pressreleasesnews/3-questions/storing-co2-while-pumping-for-oil-and-gas.html

Storing CO2 while pumping for oil and gas

"What if oil and gas production could be used to store carbon dioxide (CO2) permanently and thus limit climate change? That is the premise behind EOR+, and in a new report webinar presentation, the IEA has examined the opportunities, challenges and necessary drivers to develop this novel approach to carbon capture and storage. Juho Lipponen, the head of the IEA Carbon Capture and Storage Technology Unit, explains the engineering behind EOR+, what can make it a success and the net effect on global greenhouse"

China Outstrips Germany in Solar Capacity After Record Additions

"China, the world’s largest consumer of energy, surpassed as the country with the most installed capacity after record additions last year.The nation, bringing the total to 43.2 GW, the National Energy Administration said Friday on its website. That’s equal to more than a quarter of global additions and a third of the nation’s solar-panel production, the NEA said. .. The capacity expansion hasn’t been matched by an increase in generation, as some panels are not producing after the rush of building projects. About 31 percent of PV power generation sat unused last year in the northwestern province of Gansu, while the rate was 26 percent in Xinjiang, according to the NEA..."

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2016/02/china-outstrips-germany-in-solar-capacity-after-record-additions.html