Main findings

The authors found that the “the overnight costs of coal-fired power plants, the costs as if the project was completed “overnight”, with CO₂ capture within the OECD countries are approx. €2800/kW (USD 3800/k) across capture routes”. The overnight costs are approx. €1200/kW (USD 1700/kW) for gas power plants. However, the increase in costs due to CO₂ capture, e.g. compared to the reference plant without capture, is higher for a gas plant (+82%) than for a coal fired power plant (+74%).

The economical analysis shows that “no single technology for CO₂ capture from coal-fired power generation clearly outperforms the available alternatives for CO₂ capture.”

As a matter of fact, all different CO₂ capture technologies are being demonstrated around the world; other determinants can explain that developers opt for a capture technology. As an example, pre-combustion capture technology is not adequate to retrofit a power plant. 

As for gas fired power plant, post-combustion is deemed as the most attractive near term option. Nonetheless, several pilot projects such as Lacq in France or Killingholme in the UK respectively use oxyfuel and pre-combustion technologies to capture CO₂ from the fossil gas boilers.

Recommendations

This kind of study assessing CCS costs can significantly contribute to energy scenario modelling and policy-making. Nonetheless, the paper highlights the need for increased standardization of evaluation methodologies and the provision of more data for specific capture technologies. The report also recommends to extend the analysis to non-OECD countries to evaluate the role of CCS in that context.

Finally, the analysis must be completed with similar comparative studies on the costs and performance of CO₂ transport and storage alternatives in the future.

Read the full study here.