A necessary technology

Sometimes you need to face facts head on: like the fact that the electricity powering much of China and India’s fast-rising development is coal-generated. Yet coal is generally perceived as a “dirty” fuel. That means solutions like Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) are now being readied to help capture the carbon dioxide emitted by coal power, and safely pipe it underground. It could, say some, help save the planet.

Hans Bolscher, Project Director for CCS for the Dutch Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Economy says a good CCS programme connects all the three key stages of trapping, transporting and storing greenhouse gases. But it’s complex, not to mention expensive.

CCS in a nutshell
CCS is a three-step process includes the capture of CO2 from power plants and industrial sources. The transportation element is usually via pipelines to a storage site. The storage depositaries are usually deep saline formations, or depleted oil or gas fields. Some coal seams are unmoveable; enhanced oil recovery sites can also be used for storage.

So what about the nuclear route instead? “Nuclear energy,” says Bolscher, “cannot be harnessed quickly enough to fill the gap. Only CCS has the capacity to be readied quickly enough.”

“Actually, we would love to believe that reducing individual carbon consumption – by making our cars and light bulbs more efficient, for example, would be sufficient to fulfil the climate objectves”. That’s the argument Greenpeace puts forward. But new kinds of behaviour, such as the huge rise in cheap flying, completely destroy this idea. Flying has a truly terrible impact on our carbon footprint.”

The need for CCS incentives and investment
• A robust price for carbon needs to be established quickly so that investors have the incentive needed to develop low-carbon alternatives.

• Policy frameworks have to be established and made credible – businesses will only invest in CCS technology if the rules will not change further down the road.

• Governments need to provide business and consumers with the right mix of incentives and penalties. The right mix of rewards and regulations from government and business will all encourage consumers to play their part – and make Europe
a low-carbon world leader.

Ambitious targets set
Many countries have been successful with their alternative energy programmes. Germany, for instance, leapt in head first, developing innovative wind and solar programmes. However the Dutch have been pioneering their own CO2 reduction strategies says Hans Bolscher. “In many ways the Dutch route has been more effective, combining heat and power sources. Overall it’s been a more effective way of reducing CO2 emissions, we would argue.”

Much of the new Dutch attitude to CO2 emissions stems from a new Dutch cabinet formed back in 2007 determined to tackle climate change head on. It made CCS a core component of Dutch ambitions to slash CO2 emissions. “We had a very ambitious programme with CCS at the heart of the programme. Until 2020 our CCS programmes will see relatively modest gains. But from 2020 we predict our CCS programme will see our emissions cut by a third.” And by 2030 the savings will be even more significant.

The Dutch have given their CCS programme serious support: they’ve created a high level task force staffed by a mix of CEOs and high level ex-cabinet support, including a former prime minister and a former minister. “We [the Dutch government] published a letter two months ago describing very clearly our CCS policies and how we intend to achieve them. We don’t say CCS is more important than energy efficiency or sustainable energy. It’s a rather more joined∞up approach than that.”

Taking the initiative
The Dutch government is putting money on the table to back its CCS programme. It has allocated ¤90m to support five separate CCS demonstration initiatives. Three of these projects will capture CO2. The two other demonstrations will show how CO2 can be stored on land. “From that moment the public debate really began,” says Hans Bolscher. “We’ve also got to prepare legislation that will take care of infrastructure issues, as well storage issues.”

Meanwhile CCS needs major investment
funding – and quickly. “We need big investment as soon as possible,” says Bolscher. “The success of CCS depends on the carbon price and the expectation of higher prices in future. That’s why the government is keen to put money on the table. By 2020 the carbon price should be high enough to promote CCS as one of the most efficient measures for heavy industry.”

But if CCS isn’t up and running in time then Bolscher says it may have to be forced on mainstream industry. “Should industry adopt it or not? We think it should be adopted, regardless of the carbon price – and if necessary the Dutch government will be willing to force industry to adopt it, and backed by legislation.”

Not under my backyard
There’s also, of course, the public perception. Although CCS has won much support from the environmental community, support is not universal. “Already we have many people opposing it on the grounds of NUMBY-ism – Not Under My Back Yard.”

Organisations meanwhile like Greenpeace argue CCS diverts attention away from demand reduction and renewable energy; it also claims the technology is hugely expensive and carries significant liability risks. Which means that arguments for CCS need to be clearly explained and defined to the public.

“There are plenty of negative preconceptions about CCS,” acknowledges Bolscher. “The most popular is that CCS is unsafe. That’s a simplified conclusion but as it is a new approach we accept there is going to be discussion about it. Another pre-conception is that CCS bypasses sustainable energy. Again, untrue. CCS is also about maximising energy efficiency and sustainable energy as a joint package.”

Others meanwhile argue that CCS is hugely expensive – which it is. “Yes, but it’s much less expensive,” says Hans Bolscher, “than solar energy and about the same cost as wind power. Also, the costs will come down over time.” The main challenge for the moment is lowering the cost of capture and to get the scale of operations up and running so that the cost of transport and storage is reduced.

A timetable to bring results
So where will CCS technology be in the next five to 10 years, and how will it have changed in that time? “By 2015, we will have two major clusters of demonstrations up and running with 3-5 megatonnes of CO2 captured annually,” says Hans Bolscher.

“The public debate will have eased and we will have a worked-out strategy on how to use CCS in the next decade. By 2020, we will have implemented CCS with 50 percent of all major industry emitters. The amount of carbon dioxide stored will rise from 20 megatonnes by 2020 to 40-50 megatonnes up to 2030.”

The Netherlands’ own action plan calls for annual energy efficiency improvements of two percent by 2020, a 30 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 (baseline – 1990) and 20 percent renewable energy in the energy mix by 2020. The Clean and Efficient-programme expects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from 212 million tonnes in 2005 to 158 million tonnes in 2020.

Although CCS has its drawbacks – such as cost and questions over its long-term viability – many environmentalists generally see it as the best short-to medium-term route for the planet. “I would say three countries – Norway, the UK and the Netherlands – are really ahead of the game regarding CCS,” says Hans Bolscher. “They’re certainly ahead of the rest of Europe.”

Further information www.vrom.nl; http://international.vrom.nl