(IEA Energy Papers 2011_05) Matthias Finkenrath-Cost and Performance of Carbon Dioxide Capture from Power Generation (IEA Energy Papers)-OECD Publishing (2011)

© OECD/IEA 2011 Cost and Performance of Carbon Dioxide Capture from Power Generation
Introduction
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes a significant reduction of
worldwide greenhouse‐gas (GHG) emissions is required in order to stabilise the global average
temperature increase at 2.0°C to 2.4°C above pre‐industrial levels. Equivalent CO 2 emissions
need to be cut by at least 50% by 2050 compared to the year 2000 (IPCC, 2007).
The IEA regularly analyses pathways for reducing energy‐related CO 2 emissions. Compared to a
business‐as‐usual Baseline Scenario, carbon capture and storage (CCS) from power generation
could contribute in 2050 to 10% of the required global reduction in energy‐related CO 2
emissions (IEA, 2010). Apart from CCS in power generation, CCS from industrial and upstream
applications is expected to provide a similar emission reduction. CCS is thus a potential key
contributor to CO 2 emission mitigation, in addition to other important aims such as improving
energy efficiency and increasing renewable power generation.
CCS has been applied commercially in the oil and gas industry for several decades. This includes
technologies along the CCS value chain such as solvent‐based separation of CO 2 from gas
streams, transportation of CO 2 by pipeline and storage of CO 2 in aquifers. CO 2 is also used for
enhanced oil recovery (EOR).
CCS is however still an emerging technology in the power sector, where it has not yet been
demonstrated at large scale. Applying CCS to full‐size power plants requires scale‐up of
commercially available CO 2 capture processes. Consequently, current cost and performance
information related to CCS from power generation is limited to estimates from engineering
studies and pilot projects. This is different to established power technologies for which cost and
performance data of commercial units are well known and regularly summarised (OECD, 2010).
A dedicated review of published data is needed to track latest CCS developments. The quality of
techno‐economic data for CCS will likely improve once additional information from the first
commercial‐scale demonstration plants, which are currently in planning, become available.
Meanwhile, best‐possible estimates of cost and performance of power plants with CCS are
required as input for energy scenarios and as a basis for clean energy policy making. Against this
background, this paper summarises and analyses techno‐economic data on CO 2 capture from
power generation that were published over the last five years.
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