SaskPower is optimistic about the progress made with maintenance on its carbon capture and storage (CCS) project.聽 Hosting a tour on Dec. 7, representatives of the company announced that it has a new goal of capturing 800,000 tonnes of CO2 in 2016.聽
A blog entry on SaskPower鈥檚 website said the capture process was back online on Nov. 2 and capturing CO2 by Nov. 6. During a period of time between Nov. 14 and 16, Unit 3 ran at maximum process capacity, capturing approximately 3,420 tonnes of CO2 produced in that time, at Boundary Dam.
The company shut down Unit 3 for regular maintenance in a four-week outage. Maintenance included replacing a large containment vessel that held the main chemical solution used in the carbon capture process; mechanical fixes on numerous system components and the cleaning and relocation of certain parts of the system.
聽The Crown corporation gave a tour of the power station and Unit 3 for dignitaries who were part of the Midwest Legislative Conference, a group consisting of representatives from the U.S. and provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario.聽
Wayne Elhard, a co-chair of the Midwest-Canada Relationship Committee said that despite it not performing as expected, the carbon capture technology at Boundary Dam Unit 3 could be commercialized and sold around the world, and that the technology was well on the way to being fully functional.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no hard dollar figure attached to this concept yet. I think we鈥檙e going to want to see how effectively it works in the long term, before we can attach that kind of value to the technology,鈥� said Elhard after completing a tour of the facility.聽
Elhard noted how important it was not to make hasty, mindless decisions, with deadlines approaching for the CO2 emission restrictions in the US. He emphasized the importance of the Midwest-Canada Relationship Committee making qualified decisions about how reliable and applicable to the Midwest states the technology is.
Elhard said, 鈥淲e鈥檙e selling a concept and an idea that we think is workable, and has application in coal plants around the world.鈥�
Interested in doing just that, Andr茅 Thapedi, a state representative from Illinois, a chairman of the International Trade and a Commerce committee, vice-chairman of public utilities and energy committee in the House of Representatives, was among the guests present for a tour of the facility.聽
Thapedi said that while things are still very early in the process, he found the progress made, and the technology present at Boundary Dam to be interesting.
鈥淭his looks to be an innovative approach to dealing with the carbon issues. I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 confined to Illinois (or) confined to Saskatchewan. It鈥檚 something that has to be addressed, and addressed rapidly,鈥� said Thapedi. 鈥淎t the end of the day we have to reduce carbon emissions in the atmosphere, however we can get it done. I appreciate the Saskatchewan government giving us this opportunity, and the people of SaskPower giving us the opportunity to learn more on this fact-finding mission.鈥�
Thapedi鈥檚 interest in the carbon capture project was due to the fact that the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ordered states to create implementation plans for emissions that comply with the Clean Air Act 鈥� a law that requires Illinois and other states to look at ways to decrease their CO2 emissions.
鈥淚鈥檓 here to do a full-blown study, to see what information I can garner and what information I can take back to my state. How we can meet the president鈥檚 guidelines and get it done as quickly as possible,鈥� said Thapedi. 鈥淚t鈥檚 early in the process, and it鈥檚 not just a matter of looking out for the environment, but also coming up with means to produce revenue that would offset some of the costs.鈥�
In response to what he鈥檇 seen and learned, Thapedi noted he would 鈥渢ake it all in,鈥� and think it over.
Opposition environment critic Cathy Sproule was among the dignitaries present for the tour, in what was her first visit to Unit 3. Sproule spent the day asking a great deal of questions, and contended that there needs to be more transparency, and that there wasn鈥檛 enough so far, in SaskPower鈥檚 account of how well the technology had done. 聽
鈥淲e were told it was operating and fully functional and we had to find out through other means that it wasn鈥檛 what was going on,鈥� said Sproule. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important the information being provided is accurate.鈥�
When asked if she advocated shutting down the carbon capture process, Sproule said the shutdown that lasted from September until November is not a valid option, with $1.5 billion in taxpayers鈥� dollars already invested into the project. She noted it鈥檚 important the technology works at this stage.聽
鈥淲hat I鈥檓 hearing is that SaskPower is selling an idea. This technology is not a sold deal even for SaskPower, because they鈥檙e still planning what they鈥檙e going to do with Units 4 and 5,鈥� Sproule said during an interview after the tour. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e still ramping up, and from what we hear, it鈥檚 going to be another year before SaskPower can even decide, and we know.鈥�
At the end of the event, Howard Matthews, vice-president of power production with SaskPower, reported the facility has been running well, with progress being made since the shutdown. Matthews said that in November, Unit 3 captured 60,000 tonnes of C02.
鈥淲e have a much better understanding of what the cost of operations are,鈥� said Matthews, describing the rationale behind the new, lower target of 800,000 tonnes of CO2 for 2016. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a new facility, the first of its kind in the world. We鈥檙e working to run the facility reliably and cost-effectively.鈥�
Matthews said given the scope and magnitude of the carbon capture facility, and the fact that it鈥檚 the first of its kind in the world, it takes time to get the technology running optimally at
full capacity.聽
