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Abstract: The Netherlands is both heavily dependent on the success of carbon capture and storage (CCS) and renewable electricity for its decarbonisation policy. The same holds for the EU and some of its Member States like the United Kingdom. This paper discusses several scenarios for the Netherlands within the context of a liberalised and a more and more connected energy market in Northwest-Europe. The research reported here shows that CCS on new coal fired power plants does not pose a threat to the increase in the electricity production by large quantities of wind energy in the electricity system, and vice versa. For renewable energy, several additional policies are in place mainly in the form of financial support as long as these renewable options are not yet profitable. For CCS, financial support is only granted now for a selection of the first demonstration projects now planned in the EU. It is not yet clear if large scale CCS and high shares of wind energy can be incorporated in a balanced way in the electricity system. This paper shows that from a technical and economic point of view, there is room for both, and under which conditions such a two fold growth will be feasible. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The term ‘capture ready’ has been used by the UK Government when granting licences for power plants. However, the term has not as yet been given an agreed definition. This paper draws on literature on lock-in of large socio-technical systems and on regulation of technology undergoing development. Further, the paper compares some of the versions of the capture readiness concept proposed to date. It also explores capture readiness beyond the minimum requirement of space on the site for capture operations, including integration of capture and power plant, downstream operations, overall system integration and regulation of future retrofitting. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper provides details of the context and background to UK policies for CCS, and critically examines the national strategy and detailed initiatives to date. Interviews with key players inform the analysis. Climate and energy security goals are first set out, and arguments about the place of coal within them discussed. Then the paper turns to the evolution of the debate about CCS in UK policy circles, and rationales for public support. Lastly the paper analyses some of the political, economic and technical issues that have emerged as CCS became more prominent in UK energy strategies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Coal is central to China’s continued economic growth and CCS is one of the most promising technological solutions to curb the CO2 emitted from the continued use of coal. This paper introduces some areas of recent R&D on CCS in China and focuses, in particular, on the Near Zero Emission Coal (NZEC) project, a China-UK CCS initiative. NZEC is being undertaken in three phases, with the current project comprising the first phase. The ultimate aim of NZEC, following Phase 3, is to have constructed and operated a coal-fired power plant with integral CCS in China. In this paper, some of the early progress made in NZEC Phase 1 is described. Launched in November 2007, the objectives of Phase 1 are to build confidence in CCS and to explore technology options for demonstrating coal-fired power generation with CCS in China. The Phase 1 partnership of nine leading UK organisations and 20 from China demonstrates the strong collaborative working relationship that exists between China and the UK, at all levels, to develop CCS as a key climate change mitigation technology. Apart from NZEC, China is involved in several national and international CCS initiatives and some of these will be touched upon in this paper. The success of the 18-month first phase will, to a large extent, be measured against its contribution to increasing CCS capacity in China and against strengthened links between Chinese and British experts. Activities designed to raise capacity are described. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The UK carbon capture and storage consortium (UKCCSC) is a £2M multidisciplinary project involving academics from 15 universities and research institutes in the UK. The project has sought to improve understanding of CCS with a UK perspective in a global context. This paper outlines the broad range of activities undertaken by the consortium, including science and engineering achievements, contributions to the ongoing policy debate and capacity building. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper reports the results of an environmental impact assessment (EIA) of a hypothetical 400 MWe IGCC power plant fitted with CO2 capture technology and includes the transportation of CO2 via a high pressure pipeline to a geological formation under the North Sea and subsequent storage. The emphasis has been on assessing environmental impacts from those features which are specific to the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology and includes an appraisal of the current adequacy of information to enable EIAs for the power plant, transportation and storage components to be undertaken. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Doosan Babcock is aiming to develop a competitive oxyfuel firing technology suitable for full plant application post 2010, and is taking a phased approach to the development and demonstration of oxyfuel technology. Doosan Babcock is leading a number of UK Government supported collaborative projects that are developing oxyfuel combustion technology. The “Fundamentals and Underpinning Technologies” project aims to develop a competitive oxyfuel firing process based on the integration of well proven and innovative power plant design components, addressing critical technology gaps such as combustion fundamentals, furnace design and operation, novel flue gas purification technologies and generic process issues. The “Demonstration of an Oxyfuel Combustion System” project aims to demonstrate an oxyfuel combustion system of a type and size (40MWt) applicable to new build and retrofit advanced supercritical boiler plant. These two projects are discussed in the paper and preliminary results from pilot-scale testing undertaken in the first of these are presented. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]