| Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is an approach to | | | | Storage of the CO2 is envisaged either in deep |
| mitigating climate change by capturing carbon dioxide | | | | geological formations, deep oceans, or in the form of |
| (CO2) from large point sources such as power plants | | | | mineral carbonates. Geological formations are currently |
| and subsequently storing it away safely instead of | | | | considered the most promising, and these are |
| releasing it into the atmosphere. Technology for | | | | estimated to have a storage capacity of at least 2000 |
| capturing of CO2 is already commercially available for | | | | Gt CO2. IPCC estimates that the economic potential |
| large CO2 emitters, such as power plants. Storage of | | | | of CCS could be between 10% and 55% of the total |
| CO2, on the other hand, is a relatively untried concept | | | | carbon mitigation effort until year 2100. |
| and as yet (2006) no power plant operates with a full | | | | Capturing and compressing CO2 requires much |
| carbon capture and storage system. Currently, United | | | | energy, significantly raising the costs of operation, apart |
| States government has approved the construction of | | | | from the added investment costs. It would increase the |
| world's first CCS power plant, FutureGen, while BP has | | | | energy needs of a plant with CCS by about 10-40%. |
| indicated that it intends to develop a 350 MW carbon | | | | This, the costs of storage, and other system costs are |
| capture and storage plant in Scotland, in which the | | | | estimated to increase the costs of energy from a |
| carbon from natural gas will be stripped out and | | | | power plant with CCS by 30-60%, depending on the |
| pumped into the Miller field in the North Sea. | | | | specific circumstances. |
| CCS applied to a modern conventional power plant | | | | The costs of CCS are dominated by costs of capture. |
| could reduce CO2 emissions to the atmosphere by | | | | The storage is relatively cheap, geological storage in |
| approximately 80-90% compared to a plant without | | | | saline formations or depleted oil or gas fields typically |
| CCS. Capturing and compressing CO2 requires a | | | | cost $0.5-8 per ton of CO2 injected, plus an additional |
| great deal of energy and would increase the fuel | | | | $0.1-0.3 for monitoring costs. However, when storage |
| needs of a plant with CCS by 10-40%. These and | | | | is combined with Enhanced oil recovery to extract |
| other system costs are estimated to increase the cost | | | | extra oil from an oil field, the storage could yield net |
| of energy from a power plant with CCS by 30-60% | | | | benefits of $10-16 per ton of CO2 injected (based on |
| depending on the specific circumstances. | | | | 2003 oil prices). |