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Carbon Capture and Storage – A “Clean” Coal Future for SaskPower
By Michael Monea - President, Carbon Capture and Storage Initiatives for SaskPower, 23/11/2011
As Canadian power generating companies plan to meet future increases in our nation’s electricity demands, will coal have a future?
At SaskPower we strongly believe in a bright future for coal.
Canada’s proven, recoverable reserves of coal account for more energy than all of the country’s oil, natural gas, and oil sands combined. Coal makes up more than 60 per cent of the fossil fuel reserves of Canada on an energy-equivalent basis. Saskatchewan alone has a 300-year supply of coal.
A number of Canadian provinces rely on coal now to meet a significant amount of their power needs. Electricity generators first turned to coal because its supply is abundant, local and secure. Since then, we have also benefited from a relatively low, stable and predictable price.
Coal-fired power generation is very reliable and economical. In Saskatchewan, SaskPower’s three coal-fired power stations – Boundary Dam, Shand and Poplar River - represent the foundation of the province’s electrical system, providing close to 60 per cent of all electricity supplied in 2010.
There are reports that the world is turning away from coal because of its greenhouse gas emissions and their link to climate change. But technological solutions exist and others are under development to overcome emission challenges without jeopardizing coal’s future.
The coal-fired electricity generating stations built in the future will be very different from those built in the last century. While some may believe the term to be a contradiction, “clean” coal stations are on their way to development.
Technologies already exist to reduce coal station emissions that result in air pollution. New technologies are also being developed to capture the carbon dioxide from coal-fuelled plants before it can be released to the atmosphere. This would help to reduce Canada’s contribution to climate change.
At SaskPower we have made significant progress reducing a variety of emissions, including particulates, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury. Carbon dioxide now remains the biggest challenge for our coal fleet.
We’ve worked within our industry for several years on research to meet this challenge. That’s put us in a good position to move forward on a new project – to demonstrate a carbon capture and storage technology that could be a key to a continuing role for coal in power generation.
SaskPower is leading the development of one of the world’s first and largest integrated carbon capture and storage projects at the Boundary Dam Power Station, located near Estevan, Saskatchewan.
The $1.24 billion project is a partnership with the Government of Canada and private industry. It entails rebuilding one of six generating units at Boundary Dam and equipping it with a state-of-the-art carbon capture unit. The rebuilt generating unit – Unit 3 – will have the ability to generate 110 MW and should begin operations in 2014.
This new technology will result in the capture of about one million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, which will be sold to resource companies for enhanced oil recovery operations within the province. Removing one million tonnes of carbon dioxide is the equivalent of taking a quarter million vehicles off Saskatchewan roads for a year.
Research has shown that carbon dioxide can be safely and permanently stored in underground geological formations and depleted oil and gas reservoirs. The Boundary Dam project is one of several carbon capture demonstration projects being pursued globally. The goal of our project is to determine the technical, economic and environmental performance of carbon capture and storage technology. We also expect this project will assist with the development of sound regulations and policies for clean coal generation.
With its abundant and secure supply, coal is a resource from which we cannot turn away. Unlike many renewable sources of electricity, coal power plants provide base load electricity on demand. If the electricity industry can successfully manage the emissions from its coal-fuelled generators, then coal will remain an important part of our future energy mix.
Click here to view SaskPower’s clean coal information sheet.
At SaskPower we strongly believe in a bright future for coal.
Canada’s proven, recoverable reserves of coal account for more energy than all of the country’s oil, natural gas, and oil sands combined. Coal makes up more than 60 per cent of the fossil fuel reserves of Canada on an energy-equivalent basis. Saskatchewan alone has a 300-year supply of coal.
A number of Canadian provinces rely on coal now to meet a significant amount of their power needs. Electricity generators first turned to coal because its supply is abundant, local and secure. Since then, we have also benefited from a relatively low, stable and predictable price.
Coal-fired power generation is very reliable and economical. In Saskatchewan, SaskPower’s three coal-fired power stations – Boundary Dam, Shand and Poplar River - represent the foundation of the province’s electrical system, providing close to 60 per cent of all electricity supplied in 2010.
There are reports that the world is turning away from coal because of its greenhouse gas emissions and their link to climate change. But technological solutions exist and others are under development to overcome emission challenges without jeopardizing coal’s future.
The coal-fired electricity generating stations built in the future will be very different from those built in the last century. While some may believe the term to be a contradiction, “clean” coal stations are on their way to development.
Technologies already exist to reduce coal station emissions that result in air pollution. New technologies are also being developed to capture the carbon dioxide from coal-fuelled plants before it can be released to the atmosphere. This would help to reduce Canada’s contribution to climate change.
At SaskPower we have made significant progress reducing a variety of emissions, including particulates, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury. Carbon dioxide now remains the biggest challenge for our coal fleet.
We’ve worked within our industry for several years on research to meet this challenge. That’s put us in a good position to move forward on a new project – to demonstrate a carbon capture and storage technology that could be a key to a continuing role for coal in power generation.
SaskPower is leading the development of one of the world’s first and largest integrated carbon capture and storage projects at the Boundary Dam Power Station, located near Estevan, Saskatchewan.
The $1.24 billion project is a partnership with the Government of Canada and private industry. It entails rebuilding one of six generating units at Boundary Dam and equipping it with a state-of-the-art carbon capture unit. The rebuilt generating unit – Unit 3 – will have the ability to generate 110 MW and should begin operations in 2014.
This new technology will result in the capture of about one million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, which will be sold to resource companies for enhanced oil recovery operations within the province. Removing one million tonnes of carbon dioxide is the equivalent of taking a quarter million vehicles off Saskatchewan roads for a year.
Research has shown that carbon dioxide can be safely and permanently stored in underground geological formations and depleted oil and gas reservoirs. The Boundary Dam project is one of several carbon capture demonstration projects being pursued globally. The goal of our project is to determine the technical, economic and environmental performance of carbon capture and storage technology. We also expect this project will assist with the development of sound regulations and policies for clean coal generation.
With its abundant and secure supply, coal is a resource from which we cannot turn away. Unlike many renewable sources of electricity, coal power plants provide base load electricity on demand. If the electricity industry can successfully manage the emissions from its coal-fuelled generators, then coal will remain an important part of our future energy mix.
Click here to view SaskPower’s clean coal information sheet.