The roadmap, titled ‘A bridge to a greener Greece: A realistic assessment of CCS potential’, evaluates the environmental and economic potential of CCS in Greece by 2050, taking into full consideration official government projections regarding energy outlook. To achieve that, three scenarios are examined based on potential levels of CCS deployment. The modeling results point to that wide and timely application of CCS in the power and energy sectors would lead not only to the deepest emission cuts, but also the lowest electricity production costs.

Biomass co-firing with coal is also a very interesting prospect for Greece, which plans to add three new lignite-fired plants by 2025. As stressed by Erlend Fjosna, ‘combining wide deployment of CCS with biomass co-firing with coal could allow the Greek power sector to become carbon-negative by 2030, actually removing CO2 from the atmosphere by producing power’. Greece has began successfully testing mixed combustion of lignite in the Kardia lignite-fired plant, proving that it is indeed possible to substitute lignite with biomass in existing boilers.

The presentation of Bellona’s roadmap conclusions was well-timed given the recent announcement of the first round of calls for the NER300 funding scheme by the European Commission. Given Greece’s plan to construct three new lignite-fired plants and add 6000MW in natural gas capacity by 2030, it makes perfect sense for the country to be among the first movers. A CCS project under the first round of NER300 with CO₂ storage at Prinos, an offshore mature oil-field that could immediately accommodate the injection of CO₂, would be profitable given strong enhanced oil recovery potential. 

A Greek CCS project funded under NER300 with CO₂ storage at Prinos would be an obvious choice if indeed Greece wants to ripe the environmental and economic benefits of CCS as described in Bellona’s roadmap presentation. Given that major emission points and the Prinos oil-field are property of the Greek state, the government needs to look into this prospect in a serious and sober manner. An early CCS project with CO2 storage at Prinos would be an investment in line with the urgent economic and environmental challenges it is currently facing!  

For further information about the 15th “Energy & Development” Conference organised by IENE in Athens between 22 and 23 of November, click  here.

The final printed version of the roadmap will be presented by Bellona on December 7^th in Athens in an event to be attended by key energy stakeholders