Alstom Power president Philippe Joubert says that carbon capture technology “works and is cost-effective”.
Unveiling the results of a detailed study into carbon capture and storage (CCS) carried out by the power equipment company, Joubert said that the technology is on the point of large-scale deployment and that there is “considerable potential” in the world market for decarbonised fossil fuels.
Alstom's study is based on the company's 13 pilot and demonstration projects and has been validated by independent experts. It indicates that the cost of electricity generated in a coal-burning power plant with CCS equipment, which will be available at a commercial scale in 2015 and will allow the capture of 90 per cent of the emitted CO2, will be between 6.5 and 8.5 eurocents/kWh depending on the fuel and location.
This cost is already competitive against power coming from renewable energy sources, and is set to improve over the years as the CCS technology matures, says Alstom.
The France-based firm is investing heavily in CCS technology development as it believes it will form a key part of the solution to combat climate change. It says that Europe is positioned well to take advantage of opportunities opening up around the world in CCS because of its technological lead and policies that have encouraged the development of CCS demonstration projects.
“This is a decisive moment for players in the European energy field, in industry or in policy-making, if they want to actively position themselves as leaders on the world stage for this field of decarbonised fossil fuels, where there is considerable potential,” said Joubert.
Over half of the world's electricity will still be produced from fossil fuels in 2035, Alstom said in a statement. CCS technology applied to both coal and gas fired power plants could account for up to 20 per cent of the required emissions reduction by the year 2050, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
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