Dive Brief:
- SaskPower has begun operating the first ever commercial-scale coal-fired power plant with carbon capture technology. The facility is designed to capture and store 90% of its its carbon emissions.
- The company plans to hold the grand opening of its retrofitted unit 3 at its Boundary Station today in Saskatchewan, Canada, following a $1.2 billion upgrade to the 46 year-old plant.
- A series of other upgrades has been completed at the plant as well, aimed at nitrous oxide and sulfur dioxide emissions.
Dive Insight:
Years in the making, SaskPower will commission unit 3 of the Boundary Dam power plant at the company's annual carbon capture symposium today. But the generator actually began carbon capture operations a couple of weeks ago, and the 110-MW facility will be pulled offline on Oct. 7 to remove some remaining construction items.
Boundary Stone's carbon capture technology is an important development because it demonstrates how the process can be made financially viable. The retrofitted unit will turn the stored pollutants into a commodity, and has struck a deal with Cenovus to deliver CO2 for use in enhanced oil production. The plant will also capture and sell sulfur dioxide for the production of sulfuric acid.
Making carbon capture and storage projects profitable is a challenge because of the costs involved. Working over the coal unit cost about $300 million, but the carbon capture costs added almost $800 million, with the Canadian government picking up about a quarter of the cost.
