Royal Irish Academy organises CCS update

On Thursday, 11 March 2010, the Royal Irish Academy opened its well-attended two-day conference on carbon capture and storage technology (CCS) at Dublin Castle. IFandP was there to find out the latest advances, presented by a series of highly-regarded speakers.

After an introduction and welcome by Michael Manley, Assistant Secretary at the Ministry of Science, Technology & Innovation and Natural Resources, and Professor Nicholas Canny, the academy’s President. Scott Brocket of the European Commission gave the European context for CCS. In the last two years, the EU has made progress in CCS policy as it adopted a regulatory framework in the form of CCS Directive 2009/31/EC as well as providing for a stimulus in CCS demonstration projects.

Ken Macken of Ireland’s Environmental Protection Agency and J Owen Lewis of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland added further context as they discussed climate change, mitigating action and CCS in a low-carbon future, focusing mainly on Ireland.

The Royal Irish Academy assembled a variety of expert speakers: Emile Elewaut (TNO The Netherlands), Richard Vernon (SLR Consulting), RIA President Nicholas Canny, John Barry (Shell), Peader McArdle (GSI).

The morning’s session was rounded off by Dr John Morris of the Geological Survey of Ireland who gave an overview of carbon storage options.

In the second session of the day, keynote speaker Dr Jens Hetland of SINTEF Energy Research, Norway, discussed the three main routes for CO₂ capture and the status of technologies as well as mapping out various CCS projects around the world by technology, size and timeline. He also touched upon the typical cost of CCS related to early commercial projects in Europe.

Pat Naughton of ESB Power Generation explained the role of CCS in power generation. ESB’s vision is for the organisation to have a net carbon neutral generation fleet in Ireland by 2035. Mr Naughton pointed out the need for stable regulation and licensing, appropriate support mechanisms and public acceptability and stressed the importance of collaboration between industry, academia, policy makers and other stakeholders.

After the coffee break, Dr Robert Finley (University of Illinois), Professor Stuart Haszeldine (University of Edinburgh) and Emile Elewaut (TNO, The Netherlands) gave examples of strategies and technology relating to carbon storage, each from their perspective. Robert Finley took the listeners through permitting and developing the 1Mt geological sequestration test in a deep saline reservoir at Decatur, Illinois, USA, while Stuart Haszeldine gave a UK overview on storage. Currently, work is underway to evaluate selected aquifer stores in detail and researching a more specific capacity evaluation of all UK offshore sites. Emile Elewaut closed the day’s sessions with an interesting presentation regarding North Sea strategies and explained how the Dutch are considering the storage potential of their depleted gas fields. However, for this to be a viable solution, the country’s regulatory framework would need to be adjusted as well as solving problems relating to the timing between closure of some gas fields, connecting trunk lines and CO₂ storage potential.

In a session sponsored by the Irish Times, Jeff Chapman of the CCS Association, Stephan Singer (WWF) and Dick Ahlstrom, the Irish Times' science editor debate the issue of carbon capture and storage in Ireland.

In the evening, RIA teamed up with the Irish Times to play host to Jeff Chapman of the CCS Association and Stephan Singer of WWF for a thought-provoking debate on the impact of CCS on climate change.

The following day, Richard Vernon of SLR Consulting kicked off the CCS as a business session, outlining the Irish regulatory and business environment for CCS. His presentation was followed by Frank Convery, University College Dublin, who gave a European viewpoint to the carbon market. Shell’s John Barry represented the energy company’s perspective. Donnchadh Irish of ESB International, shared his experiences of his trip to China as he gave a Chinese perspective on carbon capture.

The Sleipner project came under close scrutiny as Andy Chadwick of the British Geological Survey kick-started the session on monitoring, regulation and research. The issue of monitoring is a crucial one in the success of CCS as reliable monitoring processes will help to get CCS accepted by the public as a viable option in reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide. Chris Bean of the University College Dublin appraised the audience of the latest advances in research on monitoring and verification. Peter Croker of the Department of Communications at Energy and Natural Resources brought attendees back to Ireland and the opportunities and constraints of offshore CCS while Michael Tutty of the Commission for Energy Regulation touched upon the issues of regulation and long-term stewardship.

In the afternoon, the organisers had lined up four more speakers which would shed light on the challenges facing Ireland in implementing CCS. John Ludden of the British Geological Survey brought the audience up to speed regarding CCS research opportunities. Richard Tol of the Economic and Social Research Institute detailed CCS economics in an Irish context. David Reiner (Judge Business School, University of Cambridge) gave an informative and highly entertaining talk on public awareness of CCS issues, stressing the importance of public acceptance of the technology in its successful implementation.

The final session of the conference was given to Bob Hanna of the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, who suitably rounded off two days’ presentations by clarifying the Irish position on CCS and looking into the future.

Successful implementation of CCS will have to overcome a number of barriers. There are not only technological challenges, but also economic and political ones. As for now, raising awareness on the issue of CCS appears a key element in its progress and RIA’s conference has been a step in the right direction.