Defining CCS Ready: An Approach to An International Definition

Chapter 2: Capture Ready Plant Definition2. Capture Ready Plant DefinitionThe definition of a Capture Ready plant focuses on identifying an appropriate location forthe plant, developing a plant design that is technically capable of retrofit, allowing sufficientspace for capture facilities, potentially pre-investing in some capture-related equipment, andensuring that any potential roadblocks (conflicting land use, environmental and otherpermits, public awareness, and identification of service providers) are recognized andaddressed. The key reason for including these elements in the definition is to allowpolicymakers, industry, and other stakeholders to avoid barriers that may prevent aneconomic transition to CCS retrofits within a reasonable timeframe. Not every jurisdictionwill have the same level of emphasis on each of these elements, but all of these issues areimportant considerations for an international definition of a Capture Ready plant. Moredetails on the proposed definition are presented below.2.1 Plant SitingThe location of a new plant is often decided early in the plant development and planningphase. The choice of the plant’s location will affect the overall technical feasibility and costof transportation and storage of the captured CO 2 . For siting a BAU plant, the issue ofCO 2 transport and storage is not a decision criterion; however, this criterion is crucial fora Capture Ready plant. The need to identify “reasonable route(s) to storage of CO 2 ” ismentioned in the IEA GHG definition, 15 although the report does not specifically addressthe issue of siting the capture plant appropriately in the first place.The need for appropriate siting is especially important for countries that are expected tohave a large number of new CO 2 -emitting facilities and a wide range of onshore andoffshore storage options. In contrast, siting of plants may be less important in jurisdictionswith small geographical area and limited or mostly offshore storage options. In these cases,pipelines to transport the captured CO 2 from plant sites to appropriate offshore locationswill go short distances to trunkline transporting CO 2 to offshore storage sites.2.2 Technical Capability of RetrofitIn addition to locating the plant appropriately, an assessment of the technical feasiblity ofconstructing the future capture facilities and integrating them with the existing plant isimportant for ensuring that the current plant being built is technically capable of futureretrofit. Without such an assessment, it is possible that the retrofit will be either infeasibleor very expensive.The types of capture technologies will be a key factor in the technical assessments.Currently, there are three major CO 2 capture technology systems:• Post-combustion capture (relevant for all fossil fuel and biomass-based plants, includingindustrial facilities such as natural gas processing, hydrogen production, and ammoniaproduction);15 Page ii of International Energy Agency Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme (IEA GHG). (2007a). CO2 capture ready plants(Report no. 2007/4). Cheltenham, UK: Author.23 February 2010 21