Carbon Capture, Transport and Storage

The objective of the European Industrial Initiative (EII) on Carbon Capture, Transport and Storage (CCS) is to contribute to the development of the technology that will enable the application of CCS in all carbon intensive industrial sectors and to ensure its competitive cost for deployment by 2020-2025. The operational objectives of this EII include the final Investment decisions for up to 12 CCS demonstration projects should be taken by 2015, as well as a programme of knowledge-sharing between projects (https://www.ccsnetwork.eu).

All the main technology routes for carbon capture, post combustion, pre-combustion and oxyfuel, are to have pilot projects for demonstration. These pilot projects should improve the capture processes by reducing the cost of technology and the loss of efficiency. They should also contribute to improve the integration of capture technologies into industrial installations, and to increase the purity of the CO2 stream as required to manage risks in the transport and storage infrastructures.

The transport concepts should be further developed to increase operational reliability and safety, both through pipeline and ship. The pilot projects should also contribute to launch the core of a trans-European CO2 network.

Storage monitoring technologies and reporting procedures shall be validated and a consistent methodology for classification of storage reserves/capacity should be established. Finally, this industrial initiative should also evaluate the storage potential within the territory of the European Union, namely in deep saline aquifers, depleted oil and gas fields and “unmineable” coal layers. These sites and CO2 emission sources will be mapped out to enable the identification of potential pipeline trajectories connecting sources and sinks.

The operating costs of CCS will greatly depend on the price of coal and of Emission Unit Allowances under the European Emissions Trade Scheme. As an ending note, let us refer that one of the outcomes of the Durban conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was the inclusion of projects for carbon dioxide capture and storage in geological formations as eligible Clean Development Mechanism activities – a program which provides financial support for developing countries, under the Kyoto Protocol for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Sources:

- CCS EII Implementation Plan 2010-2012, Zero Emissions Platform

- UNFCCC

Solar Thermal Electricity, a.k.a. Concentrated Solar Power

Solar thermal power has a significant advantage over other renewable sectors: it mimics more accurately the electricity demand curve. There is a large potential to seize this energy resource in Southern Europe and the Union’s neighbour countries of the Mediterranean. The installed capacity in Europe is expected to reach 2 GW by 2012 and around 30 GW by 2020. A much larger expression could be achieved in the long-term by involving the North Africa countries.

According to ESTELA, the European Solar Thermal Electricity Association, the European Industry is the world leader in this sector. Spain in particular has been having a leading role, building on encouraging feed-in tariffs established by the Government. The number of Spanish plants which are operating or under construction is presented in the following table.

Table 1 - Concentrated Solar Power plants in Spain

Authorized plants in Spain	Number of plants	MW
Operating or in commissioning in 2009	8	332
Completion 2010	11	548
Completion 2011	11	516
Completion 2012	11	500
Completion 2013	15	443
Total 2010-2013	48	2007

The European Commission, in its Technology Roadmap for the period 2010-2020, established several objectives for Solar Thermal Electricity, also known as Concentrated Solar Power. The main objective set forward is the reduction of the generation, operation and maintenance costs, through measures such as the improvement of the system conversion efficiency, the improvement of the reliability and efficiency of individual components, and the development of advanced plant monitoring and control technologies.

The second most important objective is to develop and improve thermal energy storage, as well as hybridization of the power plants with natural gas or even biomass, in an effort to increase the operational flexibility and energy dispachability of Concentrated Solar Power.

Environmental objectives have also been set. The need to reduce the water-use footprint associated with the cooling water consumption has also been specifically included. Optimization of land use through new and innovative designs would also contribute to reduce the ecological footprint.

In this context, ESTELA developed the Implementation Plan for 2010-2013 of the Solar Thermal Electricity European Industrial Initiative, included in the framework of the SET-Plan, intended to enhance innovation and contribute to increase the competitiveness of the sector. This implementation plan builds on the idea of coupling innovation and commercial operation.

Source: Solar Thermal Electricity European Industrial Initiative Implementation Plan 2010-2013, May 2012

Solar energy – European photovoltaic industry initiative

Continuing the overview on the Industry Initiatives included in the European Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-Plan), this post focuses on the use of solar energy through photovoltaic  technology for the production of electricity, and most particularly on the 2010-2012 implementation plan for the Solar Industry Initiative.

The implementation plan describes the immediate actions needed to achieve the goals set forward for 2020 in the European Commission's Photovoltaic Roadmap, namely the R&D steps required to enable rapid large-scale deployment of photovoltaics at minimum cost and maximum benefit for society.

The implementation plan identifies two major initiatives to enable the large-scale deployment of photovoltaics:

• Reducing photovoltaic electricity generation costs through technology progress, experience and economies of scale;
• Integrating photovoltaic electricity into the European Grid.

The R&D actions for Cost Reduction will focus on improving manufacturability, materials development, and enhancing performance. R&D will also be conducted to advance grid integration, large-scale grid integration analysis, and solar resources prediction and monitoring. The R&D actions will be followed by demonstration projects to enable the replication and large scale implementation of the results. These projects will include the large integration of PV in urban areas, grid integration of distributed photovoltaic power generation, and last scale demonstration of new concepts and technologies.

Besides the efforts of the photovoltaic sector, the success of the Solar Energy Industry Initiative will also depend on the Electricity Grid Initiative, as well as on the development of other technologies, such as electricity storage, electrical vehicles, demand side management and smart grids.

Although not included in the European Industrial Initiative, the need for an education and training program has been pointed as a requirement to avoid a shortage of qualified professionals, such as project engineers and installers, and to keep the leadership of the European industry. The importance of awareness and communication activities has also been recognized for the dissemination of the benefits of photovoltaics near the general public and important stakeholders, including policy-makers, utilities, architects, and the construction sector. 

Source: Solar Energy Industry Initiative 2010-2012 implementation plan.