The prospects for coal-fired power plants with carbon capture and storage: a UK perspective

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) facilities coupled to coal-fired power plants provide a climate change mitigation strategy that potentially permits the continued use of fossil fuels whilst reducing the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Potential design routes for the capture, transport and storage of CO2 from United Kingdom (UK) power plants are examined. Energy and carbon analyses were performed on coal-fired power stations with and without CCS. Both currently available and novel CCS technologies are evaluated. Due to lower operating efficiencies, the CCS plants showed a longer energy payback period and a lower energy gain ratio than conventional plant. Cost estimates are reported in the context of recent UK industry-led attempts to determine opportunities for cost reductions across the whole CCS chain, alongside international endeavours to devise common CCS cost estimation methods. These cost figures should be viewed as ‘indicative’ or suggestive. They are nevertheless helpful to various CCS stakeholder groups [such as those in industry, policy makers (civil servants and the staff of various government agencies), and civil society and environmental ‘non-governmental organisations’ (NGOs)] in order to enable them to assess the role of this technology in national energy strategies and its impact on local communities.