Bellona studies
Bellona has performed several studies to analyse the potentials and barriers related to CCS, and we have established many recommendations for how to accelerate the development of CCS.
The results from our studies are documented in papers and reports that can be downloaded from the publication site. Below you will find brief overviews of conclusions and recommendations in our most recent and most important studies.
In this study, performed spring 2008, Bellona sets out to show how to combat global warming. Across the economy, we have searched for solutions that already are available, or on the verge of becoming so.
We have analyzed findings from both scientific publications and various reports prepared by industry and environmental organizations.The results are summarized in the so-called Bellona Scenario which is a road map for how to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent by 2050.
The study has a technological approch, and among the solutions identified are enhanced energy efficiency, renewable energy production and CCS. Furthermore, lang-use change and life style change are also put forward as necessary strategies to combat global warming.
The conclution of the study is that the technologies needed to cut global greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent are availabe, or on the verge of becoming so. Yet, under the prevailing economic and political conditions, the needed technological shift is either happening far too slowly, or not happening at all. The challenge we face, together as a global community, is more of a political and economic nature than of a technical nature. The solutions exist – what is needed is national, regional and global political leadership to make it happen.
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Why do we need CCS to combat global warming? Can't energy efficiency and renewable energy cut global greenhouse gas emissions?
These are two very common but also important questions. The International Panel on Climate Change says that we have to reduce the global greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent by 2050. This is a tremendous challenge and our study shows that enhanced energy efficiency and more renewable energy production cannot meet this challenge without additional solutions.
Our study also shows that CCS has a significant potential for large reductions in global CO2 emissions by 2050, and CCS can therefore be the bridge to the future renewable energy system.
The conclusion of the Bellona study is that sufficient reductions in global CO2 emissions must be a combination of:
- Increased energy efficiency
- More renewable energy production
- A wide implementation of CCS.
The aim of this study is to establish the potential for how much CO2 can be captured and stored by 2050.
The study analyzes implementation of CCS in three sectors:
- The power sector where fossil fuel power plants can be built or retrofitted with CCS.
- The industry sector where CCS are applicable for refineries and factories with large CO2 emissions.
- The transport sector where fossil fuels can be replaced by hydrogen (or electricity) by 2050. The hydrogen can be produced in lagre plants with CCS.
The conclusion shows that the CCS potential is very large. If power plants and factories worldwide are equipped with CCS, the global CO2 emissions could be reduced by 33 percent compared with emissions in 2005.
By 2050 an accumulated mass of 236 tonnes CO2 can be captured and stored annually. A comparison with annual global CO2 emissions, which are 27 million tonnes, illustrates how large the CCS potential is.
A scientific paper with the results from this study was published in the International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control in October 2007.
Scientists and industrial companies agree that the next phase for developing CCS technology must be building several large-scale demonstration plants for CO2 capture and storage. In December 2008, the EU leaders followed up on this recommendation when they agreed on a new Climate Package that lays the foundation for the EU climate policy in the coming years. Among several other good initiatives, the Climate Package established a funding mechanism where the income from 300 emission allowances will be earmarked for CCS demonstration plants. Depending on the future allowance price, this amounts to 6 to 9 billion euros for funding of CCS demonstration plants.
Bellona published a report in November 2008 with an analysis of different funding options for CCS demonstration. The EU Energy Package is to a large extent in line with the recommendations in the Bellona report. But the Bellona report also analyzes other funding options like state aid, feed-in-tariffs and mandatory emission ceilings for power plants.
Read more about the Bellona report on funding of CCS.
The EU Energy Package introduced a new directive for CO2 storage. The directive contains regulatory framework for permit processes, characterisation of storage sites, standards for operations of storage sites, guidelines for close down of storage sites after injection is completed, and guidelines for liability of storage sites.
Bellona has performed a study on a regulatory framework for CO2 storage where the main focus has been on how the directive can be included in Norwegian regulations. The study also analyzes the most controversial issues that have been included in the directive.
The Bellona report was published in January 2009. Read more.
The EU has established a market for CO2 emissions where companies can buy and sell CO2 emission allowances. The market is called the EU Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS).
But if the cost of CO2 emission allowances at the EU ETS remains low, the EU ETS is not sufficient to ensure wide CCS deployment. A better alternative is the Californian emission legislation where there is an emission ceiling of 500 grams CO2 per kWh electricity produced. This emission ceiling is called the Emission Performance Standard (EPS).
Modern coal power plants emit more CO2 than the Californian EPS limit. Therefore, new coal power plants in California have to be built with CCS. But gas power plants without CCS will be allowed, because they emit less CO2 that the Califonian EPS.
Bellona argues that CCS must be mandatory not only for coal power plants, but also for gas power plants. We suggest introduction of an emission ceiling of 150 g/kWh for new power plants built after 2010 and for existing plants from 2020.
Our arguments are documented in a paper than can be downloaded as a PDF file.
