Carbon Capture Market to Pass $200 Billion by 2012
July 23, 2008
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A new report says that the market for carbon capture and storage as a way of reducing a power plant's carbon footprint could reach $236 billion by 2012. This could represent a huge step in fighting global warming.
With rising oil costs and political uncertainty among many oil producing nations, governments will look increasingly to use carbon capture and storage with energy supplies that are more readily accessible, particularly coal, which is both cheap and abundant although is the dirtiest source of energy.
The report, called Carbon Capture and Storage Technologies, was released by BCC Research, and predicts the industry will grow at an annual rate of 21.8%.
With current technology, the cost to capture and store one metric ton of carbon is roughly $50. This figure is still much higher than the $30 per tonne cost that many economists tout as an ideal level for a potential carbon tax.
There are three types of carbon capture and storage technology. The first is pre-combustion, which is expected to get about $125 billion of the total investment by 2012. This helps generate energy in a manner that releases less carbon emission by gasifying coal into a synthetic natural gas that is burned in the power plant.
The second type of technology is called post-combustion. This involves a chemical process that takes the carbon out of a plant’s emissions. Using both of these methods in a coal plant can reduce the total carbon emissions to nearly zero. The final method is called oxy-fuel combustion. This remains relatively small compared to the first two and is only expected to receive $2 billion in investment by 2012.
Many facilities around the world are making use of carbon capture and storage technology, though none are on a large scale. For this reason, it is still viewed with some reservation by environmentalists. However, if the technology can be developed to the point where it can be implemented on most power plants, it could prove to be a big aspect of fighting carbon footprint, and helping the country reduce its dependence on foreign oil.
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