RWE plans to build UK's first clean coal, 1 GW plant at Tilbury

RWE plans to build UK's first clean coal, 1 GW plant at Tilbury

London (Platts)--12Apr2006

RWE npower plans to build the UK's first "clean coal" power plant at
Tilbury, the UK generator said Wednesday.
The 1,000MW plant would use "carbon capture and storage" technology that
could reduce CO2 emissions by 90% per year. The feasibility study will look
into technology to improve the efficiency of the combustion process, as well
as carbon capture systems for storing the CO2 produced by the plant in
depleted oil and gas fields. RWE npower said the plant could be ready by 2016,
subject to regulatory approval.
CEO Andy Duff said the technology had "real potential which we are
committed to exploring," but that the development would depend on the UK
Government "maintaining a clear, transparent and consistent framework which
encourages trust in future regulatory developments."
The move comes after the generator's German parent company RWE said March
30 it would build the world's first large scale clean coal plant, in Germany,
with an expected output of around 450 MW. That plant would come online in
2014, subject to planning approval.
Unlike the German plant, which is likely to use coal gasification to
reduce CO2 emissions, the Tilbury plant will use "supercritical" technology.
This could involve with removing the CO2 after burning the fuel, or burning
the coal in pure oxygen and removing the CO2 at that point. The UK plant would
also not use lignite or "brown coal," as the German plant may do.
Although RWE npower has said it would not ask for government support for
the construction of the plant, a spokesman for the company said Wednesday that
it would be looking for financial support from the government on the CO2
storage side.
"We're not going to be asking the Government to help with upgrading our
plant technology, of course, but there is definitely a role for the Government
to play in terms of actually capturing the carbon and transporting it to gas
fields," he added.
RWE npower also submitted Wednesday its response to the Government's
Energy Review consultation. It said it is ready "to invest in a variety of low
CO2 emitting forms of electricity generation, including offshore wind and new
'Combined Cycle' gas-fired power stations if the policy and regulatory
environment is improved."
Duff said the UK needed a range of energy sources to secure electricity
supply in the coming years, and also needs to reduce CO2 emissions in order to
hit environmental targets. "Both these goals can be achieved by the energy
industry under the current market framework provided the Government adopts a
supportive approach to investment, streamlining regulatory processes
and pump-priming advanced technologies," he said.
A spokesman for RWE said the company needed the UK and European
governments to give a clear idea of what will happen in Phase 3 of the
European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme, which begins in 2012. "We need the
Government to establish a clear track record so that we can plan our
investments accordingly," he said.
In its response to the UK Government's Energy Review, RWE npower is
calling for a Phase 3 allocation period of at least 15 years, which would be
"more closely aligned to investment cycles in large-scale generation
technology," the company said.
It is also asking the Government to redefine the Energy Efficiency
Commitment to include a "broader range of new technologies including
microgeneration," and to continue the Renewables Obligation scheme as a
long-term framework.

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