RWE says it is prepared to take on “substantial financial risk” in order to construct an advanced coal gasification power plant equipped with carbon capture and storage (CCS) in Germany.
The giant utility has announced plans to construct the 450 MW project in Heurth, near Cologne, Germany, at a cost of around EUR 2 billion. It is also seeking partners to develop the project and has called for an appropriate legal framework for CCS to be put in place.
RWE has already committed EUR1 billion for the project, which it says marks an important milestone for the company. The plant will be fuelled by local lignite and based on integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) technology.
“We will do everything in our power to ensure this innovative project is now swiftly expedited,” said Dr Juergen Grossmann, CEO of RWE AG. “With our expertise in clean power technologies, we want to show the energy to lead in this field.”
The plant will capture around 90 per cent of the carbon dioxide (CO2) generated and RWE Dea is to investigate suitable storage locations for the CO2 in Schleswig-Holstein. It will also build a “climate protection” pipeline to transport the CO2 from the power plant to the storage site.
RWE says that the planning consent process for the pipeline will begin before the end of 2008. A CO2 storage facility in Schleswig-Holstein could also serve other power plants in the area, according to the utility, which hopes to complete the power plant by 2014.
“We will only be able to meet this deadline if the proposed legal framework is finalised soon and includes accelerated consent procedures for the pipeline and storage,” said Dr Johannes Lambertz, CEO of RWE Power.
Public acceptance of the new technology will also be crucial to the success of the project. “The industry and government are jointly responsible for keeping the public informed in a prompt and open manner and garnering the necessary support for this innovative form of climate protection,” said Lambertz.
In the proposed power plant, the lignite will be dried by a process specially developed by RWE. It will then be gasified to create a syngas, from which CO2 will be separated before it is used as fuel in a combined cycle plant.
In the presence of German Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel, Grossmann called for the appropriate legal framework for CCS technologies. “We are leaders in the field of clean coal generation. Lignite is the right fuel, because it is subsidy-free and available in sufficient quantities; the Goldenbergwerk site is a good location and IGCC is future-oriented technology.
“We need broad-based support and appropriate development assistance for this innovative project.”
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