ScottishPower starts up UK's first coal-fired CCS unit

Longannet, UK - ScottishPower has started a test project to take CO2 emissions from Longannet power station as part of its plans to deliver a full CCS demonstration project by 2014. The startup is claimed to mark the first time in the UK that emissions have been captured from a working coal-fired plant.

Developed by Aker Clean Carbon, the prototype is an exact, small-scale replica of a full-scale carbon capture plant. It will allow ScottishPower to test the complex chemistry involved in capturing CO2 from power station flue gases.

The Longannet power station on the Firth of Forth, operates four 600-megawatt (MW) turbines, and has a net output of 2,304MW of electricity. It the second largest coal power station in the UK, and third largest in Europe. The prototype carbon capture unit weighs 30 tonnes and covers an area of 85m2 and can process 1000 cubic metres of exhaust gas per hour from Longannet.

The test unit will examine energy efficiency – how much heat is required to break the bond between the CO2 and the amine  – and how long the  amine capture chemical can keep capturing the CO2. The unit will test 3 different amine solutions over 7 months, the company said.

Meanwhile, ScottishPower’s parent company Iberdrola said it would establish a global centre to develop CCS technology in the UK, including funding a chair of CCS at the University of Edinburgh. The company said it would also engage with other academic institutions to which they have ties, including Imperial College London.

“We believe that the UK can lead the world with CCS technology, creating new skills, jobs and opportunities for growth. There is the potential to create an industry on the same scale as North Sea Oil, and we will invest in Scotland and the UK to help realise this potential," said Ignacio Galán, chairman of Iberdrola and ScottishPower.

“This prototype carbon capture unit is a major step on the road towards our Centre of Excellence and the essential data from the unit will shape our research. We are proud to be working with the University of Edinburgh, and this partnership will be pivotal in developing our Centre of Excellence,” he added.

Data from the prototype will help ScottishPower to better understand the science before a full-scale demonstration project is built, eventually capturing up to 90% of CO2 from Longannet, according to Nick Horler, CEO of ScottishPower

“The test unit uses the exact same technology that we aim to retrofit to the station for a commercial scale CCS project by 2014, and the leap from 1MW to 330MW is now within sight. There are over 50,000 fossil fuel power stations in operation throughout the world, and by proving that CCS technology can be retrofitted to existing stations, we can begin to address the carbon lock-in from these power plants," said Horler.

“The switch-on today, coupled with the recent Scottish Regional Study highlighting the Central North Sea’s potential to store all of Europe’s CO2 emissions well into the next century, means that a major new industry is now on the brink of being formed in the UK,” he added.