Carbon capture put to the test in NSW

Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday 15/1/2009 Page: 9

NSW is about to find out whether it will be able to capture greenhouse gas emissions from its coal-fired power stations and store their underground. Drilling began on Monday to see if the rock 800 metres under the Central Coast can handle having thousands of tonnes of liquefied carbon dioxide pumped into it each week. It is yet to be proved that carbon capture and storage, in which carbon dioxide fumes from power stations are compressed and cooled on-site before being buried, will work on a large scale in Australia. Most environmental groups and some in the coal industry think it will not become effective in time to help slow climate change.

But the Government is optimistic that exploratory drilling close to Delta Energy's Munmorah coal-fired power station near Lake Macquarie, and at three other points in the state's north, will show results. By April we'll have an idea whether things are going well," the Minister for Energy, Ian Macdonald, said. We believe that it will work." Last July, a trial carbon capture project at the Munmorah power station was launched by Delta Energy using CSIRO technology. The next step is to bury the captured carbon.

The amount captured and stored at Munmorah is initially to be small - 3000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, a tiny fraction of the power station's emissions. It aims to capture 100,000 tonnes a year by 2013. If the chosen test site at Munmorah proves unsuitable for storing carbon, other sites - such as Mount Piper power station near Lithgow- would be immediately investigated, Mr Macdonald told the Herald.

If no geological sites can be found near existing power stations, the Government would consider contributing funds to build a vast network of pipelines Environmentalists say the expense of carbon capture and storage would take money away from the development of renewable energy. The coal industry is trying to create the appearance that it is doing something about climate change, but all they are really doing is fighting tooth and nail to keep themselves in business," a Greenpeace spokesman said.