{"id":2415,"date":"2022-04-19T13:08:21","date_gmt":"2022-04-19T13:08:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatetransform.com\/?p=2415"},"modified":"2022-06-30T10:58:53","modified_gmt":"2022-06-30T10:58:53","slug":"carbon-capture-should-public-companies-continue-to-fund-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatetransform.com\/carbon-capture-should-public-companies-continue-to-fund-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Carbon Capture: Should Public Companies Continue To Fund It?"},"content":{"rendered":"

For years, carbon capture companies have argued that their technology is the solution to climate change.<\/span><\/span>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span> <\/span>Capturing and storing carbon certainly aligns with the IPCC\u2019s requirement that greenhouse gas emissions should be curtailed as soon as possible.<\/span>2<\/sup><\/a><\/span> In fact, the IPCC even recommends carbon capture to help limit global warming to 1.5\u00b0C.<\/span>3<\/sup><\/a><\/span> <\/span>But, should public companies continue to fund it?<\/p>\n

What is carbon capture?<\/h2>\n

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) reduces the carbon emissions from heavy industry and fossil fuel power plants.<\/span><\/span>4<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>There are three ways to capture carbon: pre-combustion, post-combustion and oxy-fuel combustion.<\/span><\/span>5<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>They all prevent CO2 from entering the atmosphere.<\/span><\/span>6<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>The captured CO2 is either stored or utilised.<\/span><\/span>7<\/sup><\/a><\/span> <\/span>It is a way of preventing greenhouse gas from contributing to global warming whilst continuing to use fossil fuels for energy or industry.<\/p>\n

How many companies currently use carbon capture?<\/h2>\n

There are currently 19 large-scale industrial and two large-scale CCS power facilities in operation<\/a>.<\/span><\/span>8<\/sup><\/a><\/span> <\/span>20 additional projects are also under development.<\/span>9<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Collectively, the 21 working facilities can capture about 40 million tonnes of CO2 per annum.<\/span>10<\/sup><\/a><\/span> <\/span>To ensure the global temperature rise does not exceed 1.5\u00b0C, CCS volume must increase by a factor of 35 from its current rate.<\/span>11<\/sup><\/a><\/span> <\/span>It would require substantial investment from governments and public companies to alleviate the effects of climate change.<\/p>\n

However, many investors are reluctant to provide further funding for carbon capture companies. The failure of initiatives, such as the Kemper power plant, has thrown doubt over the utility of CCS. The Kemper power plant was once considered ‘clean coal’ energy’s flagship.<\/span><\/span>12<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Its CCS facilities were supposed to capture 65 per cent of the plant\u2019s CO2 emissions.<\/span><\/span>13<\/sup><\/a><\/span> <\/span>Initial construction costs were USD $2.4 billion.<\/span>14<\/sup><\/a><\/span> <\/span>However, these soon ballooned to USD $7.5 billion.<\/span>15<\/sup><\/a><\/span> <\/span>Overly complex technology, unknown startup operation and technology risks, and the falling price of natural gas are thought to be responsible for the project\u2019s failure.<\/span>16<\/sup><\/a><\/span> <\/span>In 2017, the complex was converted to a natural gas power plant, raising serious concerns over promises of \u2018clean coal\u2019 through CCS.<\/span>17<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

What public companies are interested in carbon capture?<\/h2>\n

Unsurprisingly, oil and gas fossil fuel companies tend to be most interested in carbon capture technology. For instance, Royal Dutch Shell,<\/span><\/span>18<\/sup><\/a><\/span> <\/span>Chevron Corporation,<\/span>19<\/sup><\/a><\/span> <\/span>NRG Energy,<\/span>20<\/sup><\/a><\/span> <\/span>and Equinor<\/span>21<\/sup><\/a><\/span> <\/span>have all invested billions of dollars into CCS projects.<\/span>22<\/sup><\/a><\/span> <\/span>But, it has become evident that many of these initiatives are sustained with false promises.<\/p>\n

For instance, Canadian energy company SaskPower operates and owns the first commercial-scale coal-fired power station with CCS facilities.<\/span><\/span>23<\/sup><\/a><\/span> The i<\/span>nitial reception for Boundary Dam was largely positive, due to the plant’s perceived environmental benefit.<\/span>24<\/sup><\/a><\/span> <\/span>In reality, however, the cost and performance of the CCS technology tell a different story. The CCS facilities accounted for the majority of the project\u2019s startup costs: CAD $917 million of CAD $1.47 billion.<\/span>25<\/sup><\/a><\/span> <\/span>They also require almost 25 per cent of the power plant\u2019s output to operate.<\/span>26<\/sup><\/a><\/span> <\/span>Most of the captured CO2 is then used for enhanced oil recovery to boost oil production.<\/span>27<\/sup><\/a><\/span> <\/span>Much of the environmental benefit of the CCS technology is, therefore, negated by repurposing the CO2 to generate more fossil fuels.<\/p>\n

Boundary Dam and the failed Kemper power plant are examples of CCS technology’s misleading and unreliable nature. Rather than waste more investment from public companies and taxpayers, efforts should focus on boosting the burgeoning clean energy sector. Their minimal emissions and annual growth rate of 13.7 per cent over the past decade are hard evidence that the future lies with renewables.<\/span><\/span>28<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For years, carbon capture companies have argued that their technology is the solution to climate change. Capturing and storing carbon certainly aligns with the IPCC\u2019s requirement that greenhouse gas emissions should be curtailed as soon as possible. In fact, the IPCC even recommends carbon capture to help limit global warming to 1.5\u00b0C. But, should public […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":2418,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1,210],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nCarbon Capture: Should Public Companies Continue To Fund It? - Climate Transform<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Carbon capture companies want their technology to be the answer to global warming. 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