Government of Alberta: Alberta advances clean coal technology through carbon capture

Edmonton, Oct 15, 2009 (M2 PRESSWIRE via COMTEX) -- TAC | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- The Alberta government and TransAlta Corporation are working together to kick-start a leading-edge coal-fired electricity generation plant that will capture and store up to one million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year.

'Perfecting technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired electricity generation will not only have a significant impact in Alberta, but it could help throughout North America and in developing nations like China,' said Premier Ed Stelmach. 'This project provides an opportunity for Alberta to be a leader in developing game-changing carbon capture technology that could be used around the globe.'

The province has signed a Letter of Intent with TransAlta Corporation on Project Pioneer at the Keephills 3 plant west of Edmonton. The project will utilize leading-edge technology to capture CO2. The CO2 will be used for enhanced oil recovery in nearby conventional fields, or stored almost three kilometres underground. Alberta's investment, through its $2-billion Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Fund, will total $431 million over the next 15 years. An additional $5 million will be provided to the project to support front end engineering and design. The private partners are TransAlta, Capital Power and Alstom.

'Carbon capture and storage provides Alberta and Canada a global leadership opportunity to develop new technologies to reduce CO2 emissions,' said Steve Snyder, President and CEO of TransAlta. 'Government and industry partnerships such as this are a critical catalyst required to accelerate implementation of these new technologies that will make Canada a global leader in CO2 reductions through CCS.'

The Government of Canada is also contributing $343 million toward this project through the Clean Energy Fund and the federal ecoENERGY Technology Initiative.

With this announcement, Alberta's committed funding toward commercial-scale greenhouse gas reductions is almost $1.2 billion leading to emission cuts of about 2.2-million tonnes per year. The Alberta government is continuing to pursue Letters of Intent with project proponents for the remaining available funding. CCS projects support the Provincial Energy Strategy to enhance clean energy production through energy technology leadership.Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project details

TransAlta Corporation, Alstom, Capital Power

Project Pioneer will retrofit the Keephills 3 coal-fired plant, a joint venture of TransAlta and Capital Power. Project Pioneer will capture and store up to one-million tonnes of CO2 annually beginning in 2015. The CO2 will be captured using a chilled ammonia process, a technology that can be applied to a variety of emission sources such as coal, natural gas and oil sands production.

The CO2 will be injected about 2,600 to 2,800 metres below the earth's surface near the plant's Wabamun location for permanent storage. Project Pioneer will also purify the CO2 for future use in enhanced oil recovery.

The Government of Alberta is investing $436 million in the project.

Project Pioneer will be one of the world's first fully-integrated CCS project for a coal-fired power plant. It will be a leader in retrofitting existing energy infrastructures and may prove to be the template the world will follow as a highly efficient way to reduce CO2 emissions.

CCS project funding details

The Alberta government has committed $2 billion to advance CCS technology. Projects will be eligible to receive up to a maximum of 75 per cent of the total incremental cost to capture, transport and store CO2. A maximum of up to 40 per cent of the approved funding will be distributed during the design and construction stage based on achieved milestones and up to an additional 20 per cent of the approved funding will be granted upon commercial operation. The remaining 40 per cent of the funding will be paid as CO2 is captured and stored over a maximum period of 10 years.

The province has budgeted a total of $100 million this fiscal year for engineering and design work. No funds will be dispersed until the companies enter into a funding agreement.

CONTACT: Jerry Bellikka, Energy Communications, Government of Alberta Tel: +1 780 422 3667 e-mail: jbellikka@energy.alberta.ca Tel: +1 780 310 0000

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