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Abstract: China has been building approximately 1 GW of new coal-fired power plant per week since 2005. Power plants now in construction may continue to operate until 2040. “CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) Ready” enables and eases the subsequent retrofitting of a plant to be able to capture carbon dioxide later in that plant’s lifetime. Building on the definitions of the IEA GHG (IEA Greenhouse Gas Programme) and GCCSI (Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute), this study suggests a novel concept ‘CCS Ready Hub’ for implementing CCS Ready. A CCS Ready Hub not only includes a number of new coal-fired power plants but also integrates other existing stationary carbon dioxide emissions sources into the planning for potential infrastructure. We conducted a case study of Guangdong province in China with a detailed engineering and economic assessment in Shenzhen City. The study first reviewed the potential storage sites and analysed the existing stationary emissions sources in Guangdong using a GIS (Geographic Information System) approach. Thereafter, we focused on investigating the economic benefits of a ‘CCS Ready Hub’ at a potential 4 GW new USCPC (ultra-supercritical pulverised coal-fired) power plant in Shenzhen. Using the cost of carbon dioxide avoidance in 2020 as a criterion, we found that the concept of a CCS Ready Hub to finance CCS Ready at a regional planning level rather than at an individual plant is preferred since it significantly reduces the overall cost of building an integrated CCS system to reduce carbon emissions in the future. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We present results of a major survey of Chinese opinion leaders conducted from March to April 2009, supported by EU–UK–China near zero emissions coal (NZEC) initiative. Respondents were drawn from 27 provinces and regions using an online survey with follow-up face-to-face interviews. A total of 131 experts and decision-makers from 68 key institutions were consulted through online survey. This survey is the first to focus on demonstration projects in particular and is the most geographically diverse. We aim to understand perceptions of applying CCS technologies in the first large-scale CCS demonstration project in China. Though enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and enhanced coal bed methane recovery (ECBM) may not be long-term solutions for CO2 storage, they were viewed as the most attractive storage technologies for the first CCS demonstration project. With regard to CO2 capture technology, on the whole, post-combustion (which would be most applicable to the vast majority of existing power plants which are pulverised-coal) received slightly higher support than pre-combustion. More surprising, respondents from both the power and oil industries favoured pre-combustion. There was no consensus regarding the appropriate scale for the first demonstration. A large number of respondents were concerned about the energy penalty associated with CCS and its impact on the long-term sustainability of coal supply in China, although such concerns were much reduced compared with surveys in 2006 and 2008. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]