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Atomic energy technology, politics, and perceptions from a nuclear energy insider who served as a US nuclear submarine engineer officer

FACTBOX-U.S. Coal Plant captures and stores 2% of its carbon – at a cost of $3650 per kilowatt of capacity for just the CCS system

November 19, 2009 By Rod Adams

I saw a deceptive headline in my Google Alert for new nuclear power plants this morning. Can you imagine – a headline writer who chooses a deceptive headline!

The story, titled FACTBOX-U.S. Coal Plant captures and stores 2% of its carbon comes from Reuters News Service. It sits above an article that provides some interesting information about a demonstration project at a West Virginia coal plant. After reading the article, I determined that the key points were not well represented in the headline. The demonstration plant is only capturing a tiny fraction of the CO2 that the plant produces and it is doing so with a capital cost investment for the capture and storage system that is not so far from the cost per kilowatt capacity of a brand new nuclear power plant.

Though that cost might include some monitoring and testing facilities that would not be needed in a full scale model, most of the required systems are pipes, pumps and stack gas capturing systems whose cost would not appear to be something that can be drastically reduced.

*The project diverts flue gas from the plant’s smokestack to a 20,000 square foot (1,858 sq metres) structure where the carbon dioxide is trapped using a chilled ammonia solution.

*Once separated from the other gases, the carbon is compressed into a liquid-like state and transported through about 1,300 feet (400 metres) of pipeline to two separate sites at the plant.

*The carbon is then injected into saline reservoirs about 8,000 feet (2,440 metres) underground.

Though some people will vociferously disagree when I state that “clean coal” is a figment of a marketing department’s imagination, it might be more difficult to disagree with the statement that affordable clean coal is a very challenging goal.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

About Rod Adams

Managing member at Nucleation Capital, LP.
Atomic energy expert with small nuclear plant operating and design experience. Financial, strategic, and political analyst. Former submarine Engineer Officer. Founder, Adams Atomic Engines, Inc. Host and producer, The Atomic Show Podcast. Resume available here.

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