Site specific considerations for investments in new coal-fired power plants with CO₂ capture

In recent years, concerns have grown about global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and the potential for dangerous climate change which is associated with business-as-usual emissions from coal-fired power plants (and other large sources of CO₂). Thus, it is increasingly being suggested that CO₂ capture will be a requirement for continued use of coal for electricity generation in coming decades. For example, within Europe, it has been proposed that CO₂ capture could be mandatory for all new coal-fired power plants from 2020 (Commission of the European Communities, 2007). A number of site-specific considerations can be expected to shape technology choice and other decisions related to investments in new coal-fired power plant. These include restrictions in the coal available at reasonable cost, local environmental legislation and the electricity market that the plant would operate in. This paper outlines some considerations for investors, utilities and possibly regulators when identifying sites and making technology choices for new coal-fired plants which are expected to use CO₂ capture, either from the outset or following later retrofit (i.e. the initial plant would be capture-ready). It identifies some extra factors in selecting appropriate sites, when compared to plants built without CO₂ capture considerations, and outlines some potential 'show-stoppers'. For example, CO₂ capture plants must be sited in locations which allow CO ₂ to be transported to safe geological storage (or other use). These new factors must ultimately feed into investment decisions. An initial discussion of approaches which could be used by investors and other stakeholders to compare specific technology options is included here. It is important that methods that allow investors and legislators to make informed choices, taking into account site-specific factors which are often neglected in general comparisons of technology, are identified and developed. The qualitative discussion in this paper is intended to inform the quantitative analyses that will be used by project developers in the next few years to select power plant technology options for capture-ready plants and for plants built from the outset with full-scale CO₂ capture as part of integrated carbon capture and storage schemes.