UKCCSC News 28 October 2008

Hi Folks,

I’m sure you don’t need reminding but the wrap-up meeting of the UKCCSC is in London on November 10th.

Provisional details are on the web at: http://www.co2storage.org.uk/Meetings/

To register hassle Jon Gibbins <j.gibbins@imperial.ac.uk>.

2) UK “Government pledges to cut carbon emissions by 80% by 2050” Guardian (16 Oct)

Pretty self explanatory, really. It doesn’t mention how they intend to achieve this, of course.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/oct/16/greenpolitics-edmiliband

3) On the other hand, this is how Norway might get there…

 “Norway to Allocate Nearly Two Billion NOK for Carbon Capture and Storage in 2009” OilVoice (9 Oct)

“…through projects at Mongstad and Kårstø, research and development of CCS technologies and international projects.”

http://www.oilvoice.com/n/Norway_to_Allocate_Nearly_Two_Billion_NOK_for_Carbon_Capture_and_Storage_in_2009/3cfad98b.aspx

4) “IEA urges 10,000 CCS projects to run by 2050” Forbes (20 Oct)

“The cost of curbing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions will surge by several billion dollars if 10,000 carbon and capture storage (CCS) projects are not in place by 2050, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Monday.

Only four full-scale CCS projects are in place with none capturing CO2 from coal-fired power plants, the IEA, an adviser to 28 industrialised nations, said.”

Four?

http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/10/20/afx5578074.html

5) The project that brought you the Princeton wedges has been promised substantial funding,  look on oh ye mortals and weep:

“BP and Princeton renew partnership to tackle climate problem” News at Princeton (15 Oct)

“BP's original 10-year-commitment initially funded the program at $1.5 million a year and later increased it to more than $2 million a year. CMI is aimed at supporting fundamental scientific, technological and environmental research that would lead to safe, effective and affordable solutions to climate change.”

http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S22/40/40G69/index.xml?section=topstories

6) This isn’t really news, in the sense that the story could have been written 10 years ago (or probably in 10 years time), but it makes interesting reading. It definitely wasn’t written by Vattenfall’s PR dept!

“Brown coal: Germany's big dirty secret” The Local (16 Oct)

“Then comes the ecological disaster: burning lignite releases more CO2 than any other method of power generation: at least 1,100 grammes of CO2 per kilowatt hour compared to 750 grammes CO2 per kilowatt hour for a normal coal power plant, or just 360 grammes of CO2 per kilowatt hour for a natural gas-fired power station. Germany, considered to be an environmentally friendly country, burns more lignite than any nation in the world.”

Compare the above to the proposed EU 500 g / kW.hr limit for power generation from 2015.

http://www.thelocal.de/14927/20081015/

7)  News from Scotland, from a webpage with no title or apparent owner unless it’s prnewswire from the URL:

“Air Products' Oxygen Supply Selected for Demonstration of Oxyfuel Technology” (13 Oct)

“The agreement is part of the OxyCoal 2 project in Renfrew, Scotland, which aims to demonstrate the benefits of oxyfuel technology for carbon capture on coal-fired power plants.”

This article has the best disclaimer ever, scroll to the bottom of the page.

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/10-13-2008/0004902774&EDATE

8) Fed up of everyone rabbiting on about China? Get the Japanese perspective for once over chips with mayonnaise and chocolate-flavoured beer:

“Seminar on commercialising carbon capture and storage in the EU and Japan, Brussels, Belgium”

12 November 2008, free admission (reserve early), more info at:

http://www.eu-japan.eu/global/ccsseminar.html

9) Canada: “Shell unveils $20-million carbon storage project” CalgaryHerald (20 Oct)

“…project that could eventually see one million tonnes of CO2 from the Scotford upgrader near Edmonton injected into a 2,000-metre-deep well”

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/calgarybusiness/story.html?id=da6db3f5-2558-4e16-a9dc-a90cbb5ea82b

10) This months free holiday offer (assuming you are running a solvent research account, of course) is Rueil-Malmaison, France.

Deep Saline Aquifers for Geological Storage of CO2 and Energy

27 - 29 May 2009, IFP 

The (extended ) deadline for papers is to 31 October.

Keynote speakers are:

E. Huenges (GFZ, Germany), tba.

G. Kimmerlin (Gaz de France) Storage of natural gas in aquifers, feedbacks from a mature industry

B. Sanner (European Geothermal Energy Council, Belgium) Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) and perspectives of other applications

K. Pruess  (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA) Processes induced by CO2 disposal, 

S. Holloway (British Geological Survey, UK) and F. May (BGR, Germany)  Evaluation of storage potential and assesment of suitable disposal sites

10 is enough for anybody?

Mark