The report found that there are now 22 projects in construction or operation worldwide, a 50% increase since 2011. The report details progress on CCS over the past year, providing a raft of recommendations for decision makers.
Brad Page, CEO of the Global CCS Institute, said: “CCS in the power sector is now a reality with the world’s first large-scale CCS project operating at Boundary Dam, Canada. With eight major CCS projects anticipated to go live in a range of industries worldwide by 2016, this low-carbon technology is reaching the critical mass necessary for widespread deployment.”
The report found the industry is poised to move through its most active construction period to date, extending across a diverse range of sectors such as iron and steel, natural gas and power. The report details nine CCS projects under construction with investments totalling billions of dollars. Eight of these are expected to become operational by 2016.
“These diverse and large-scale projects demonstrate that CCS is active, operational and viable. An important point is that the projects currently under construction are the result of visionary policy decisions made around five years ago.
“We simply can’t have an effective response to tackling climate change without CCS. Decisions and actions are required now to lay policy, legal and infrastructure foundations for wide-scale deployment post 2020,” said Mr Page.
Mr Page called for “a year of action” on policy and deployment for CCS, saying, “Now is the time for decision makers to take stock of what has been achieved and build on these solid foundations so that CCS can make major contributions to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.”
The report found there are 14 CCS projects in advanced planning stage, including nine in the power sector, expected to be in a position to make a final investment decision in 2015. Calling for financial and policy support structures to transition this portfolio of planned projects to actual projects by 2020, Mr Page warned that CCS technology would not become widespread without policy parity with other clean technologies.
By 2016, CCS will be in operation in high carbon-emitting sectors such as chemicals and iron and steel. The world’s first commercial-scale chemical and bio-CCS plant at the Illinois Industrial CCS Project in the United States (US) plans to be operational in 2015. The Abu Dhabi CCS Project in the UAE, planned for operation in 2016, is the world’s first large-scale project in the iron and steel sector.
“We need to be clear that CCS is the only technology that can achieve large reductions in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from industries such as iron and steel, chemicals and cement which together emit 20% of the world’s CO2. In fact, it is just as important to use CCS on industrial processes as in the electricity sector, which is currently the world’s largest CO2 emitter, accounting for up to 40% of emissions,” concluded Mr Page.
Key findings
- The world’s first large-scale CCS project in the power sector went live at Boundary Dam in Estevan, Saskatchewan, Canada on October 2, 2014.
- The Abu Dhabi CCS Project in the UAE (expected to come on in line in 2016) will be the world’s first large-scale CCS project in the iron and steel sector.
- There are 22 large-scale CCS projects in operation or construction around the world, with the capacity to capture up to 40 million tonnes of CO2 per annum, equivalent to taking 8 million cars off the road.
- The next two large-scale CCS projects in the power sector are planned to come online in the US: Southern Company’s Kemper County Energy Facility in Mississippi (2016), and the Petra Nova Carbon Capture Project in Texas (2016).
- CCS projects in the UK are progressing with both the Peterhead CCS Project and the White Rose CCS Project receiving funding to begin advanced engineering studies, while its policy makers are developing mechanisms to support CCS in the power and industrial sectors.
- There are another 14 large-scale CCS projects in advanced planning stages, including 9 in the power sector, many of which are anticipated to take a final investment decision during the next year.
- The US, Canada and China lead the world in the development and deployment of CCS projects. These countries are not only major sources of CO2, but also have a vast potential to store CO2.
- The data revealed two areas requiring more attention from policy makers: the lack of CCS projects in non-OECD economies (outside of China) and the lack of progress in CCS technology development in high carbon-intensive industries such as iron and steel and cement.
Luke Warren, Chief Executive of the Carbon Capture and Storage Association, commented, “We welcome the findings of today’s report in demonstrating just how much progress has been made on CCS. The findings will help towards building much needed confidence amongst Governments, the general public and critically, the financial investment community. The message is clear – CCS is here and ready for deployment”.
"The report comes at a time when CCS has garnered widespread acknowledgement for its crucial role in delivering a long-term, fiscally responsible way of reducing emissions."
"Earlier this week, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published its ‘Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report’ in which CCS was identified as the essential low-carbon technology needed to help cost-effectively decarbonise the global power sector. The report found that without CCS the total cost of limiting CO2 emissions could increase by 138%."
"The news builds upon the release of the EU 2030 climate and energy framework earlier this month, where inclusion of CCS in the final Council Conclusions– alongside renewables and energy efficiency – signalled its increasing prominence in delivering a secure future energy mix for Europe."
“The GCCSI report is firm confirmation that others around the world are forging ahead with CCS. Now is the time for UK policy makers to reflect on what has been achieved to date and build upon this solid foundation. Decisions taken now will determine whether the UK is able to benefit from this technology or whether we close the door on CCS as an option."
"The UK Government must maintain momentum in delivering the CCS Commercialisation Programme and ensure that a second phase of CCS projects are developed in parallel with the current competition projects. What is now urgently needed is a steady roll-out of UK projects to ensure that CCS becomes cost-competitive with other low-carbon technologies in the 2020s. The UK is world-leading in developing an enduring policy framework to support CCS alongside renewable and nuclear under the Electricity Market Reform programme but it is vital that the policy delivers real projects as soon as possible”.