According to a statement, the ETI’s strategic modelling has highlighted carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a crucial part of the UK’s energy mix alongside nuclear power, offshore wind, bio energy and marine energy if legally binding cuts in greenhouse gases of 80 per cent by 2050 are to be met.
The ETI expects to invest in the initial development of two promising ‘next-generation’ technologies before selecting the best one for large-scale testing at a combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant.
The deadline for the notification of intention to submit a proposal is 27 May and all proposals must be received by 27 June.
The ETI said bidders will need to demonstrate and justify how their approach would enable their technology to reach a state of development that would allow future investors to start engineering the design of a power station using this next-generation technology in 2015, with operation commencing in 2020.
As retrofitting of existing power stations is desirable, the request for proposals will target post-combustion technologies with low capital costs.
Dr David Clarke, ETI chief executive, said: ‘Gas remains the UK’s primary energy source and our estimates suggest we will have around 30GW of CCGT capacity by 2030.
‘Even though gas is much cleaner than coal, achieving the UK’s CO2 reduction targets in the longer term will still require CCS to be fitted to all fossil-fuelled power stations by the 2030s.’
The overall aim of the project is to develop a technology with the potential to make a substantial reduction in capital and operating costs in the capture plant, which will be ready to catch the wave of CCS implementation in CCGTs expected to occur in the 2020s and early 2030s.
Nanogenerator consumes CO2 to generate electricity
Whoopee, they've solved how to keep a light on but not a lot else.