Keeping in view the dangers of global warming, it is imperative to limit the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere; there are three means of achieving this; increased energy efficiency, the use of fuels that do not lead to an increase in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere and methods that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, for example carbon sequestration. The first two methods are long term strategies and only the third offers some immediate relief to the problem. ‘The Future of Carbon Sequestration: Key drivers and resistors, costs and technologies’ is a new management report that examines the ways in which CO2 can be captured, transported and stored to prevent it from returning to the atmosphere. It analyzes the alternative means of generating electricity, the associated costs and uses different costing models to evaluate the most economical future strategy. Use this report to evaluate the niche opportunities provided by carbon sequestration as a global CO2 stabilization strategy.

Table of Contents
The Future of Carbon Sequestration
Executive summary 10
Introduction 10
Capturing carbon dioxide 10
Transporting and sequestering carbon dioxide 11
Alternative technologies 12
Political and legislative issues 12
The cost of sequestration 13
Chapter 1 Introduction to carbon
sequestration 16
Emission control targets 18
Hydrogen economy 19
Status of the technology 20
The structure of this report 21
Chapter 2 Power generation technologies
with carbon dioxide capture 24
Introduction 24
Post-combustion capture 27
Absorption process 28
Energy requirements 30
Post-combustion developments 30
Fuel cells 31
Pre-combustion capture 32
Steam reforming and partial oxidation 33
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Integrated gasification combined cycle 35
Hydrogen 35
Oxyfuel combustion 37
The cost of carbon dioxide capture 38
Demonstration projects 44
Chapter 3 Transporting and sequestering
carbon dioxide 48
How much carbon dioxide needs to be sequestered? 49
Transporting carbon dioxide 50
Carbon dioxide sequestration 52
Geological sequestration 53
Oil and gas fields 53
Coal beds 56
Geological formations 56
Geological storage capacities 57
Ocean sequestration 58
Reducing seawater acidity 61
Storage capacity 61
Sequestration monitoring 62
Risks 63
Risks associated with ocean storage 63
Risks associated with geological storage 63
Legislative issues 65
Costs 65
Chapter 4 Alternative technologies for
carbon sequestration 68
Introduction 68
Hydropower 69
Environmental issues 71
Financing hydropower 72
The cost of hydroelectricity 73
Wind power 73
Environmental issues 77
The cost of wind power 77
Marine generation technologies 78
Environmental issues 80
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Cost of marine power 80
Hydrogen 80
Biomass energy conversion 81
Environmental considerations 83
The cost of electricity from biomass 84
Solar power 84
Solar thermal technology 84
Solar photovoltaic technology 85
Environmental issues 87
The cost of solar power 87
Forest sequestration 88
Nuclear power 90
The cost of nuclear electricity 91
Cost comparison 92
Chapter 5 Political and legislative issues 96
Introduction 96
Legislative issues 97
The sea 97
On land 99
The public perception of carbon sequestration 100
Political issues 101
Chapter 6 The cost of sequestration 106
Introduction 106
Fossil fuel power generation 107
Capital cost 107
Cost of electricity 110
Cost of carbon dioxide capture 112
Cost comparisons 114
Alternative forms of power generation 115
The cost of carbon-free electricity 116
Conclusions 120
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List of Figures
Figure 1.1: Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration 17
Figure 2.2: Cost of Electricity Comparison using IECM model 40
Figure 2.3: Cost of electricity based on IPCC study ($/kWh) 42
Figure 3.4: CO2 transportation costs (($/t CO2) 51
Figure 3.5: Relationship between atmospheric CO2 concentration and change in seawater acidity
59
Figure 4.6: Global hydropower capacity and potential, by region 70
Figure 4.7: Global wind capacity (MW), 1997-2005 74
Figure 4.8: Installed wind energy capacity by country, 2005 76
Figure 4.9: Costs of alternative technologies ($/Kwh) 93
Figure 6.10: Capital cost of fossil fuel plants with and without capture (EC) 108
Figure 6.11: The cost of carbon-free electricity (€/kWh) 117
Figure 6.12: The final cost of electricity (€/kWh) 119
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List of Tables
Table 1.1: Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration 16
Table 2.2: Carbon dioxide quantities in flue gas from power plants 26
Table 2.3: Pre-combustion fuel conversion efficiencies 34
Table 2.4: Cost of Electricity Comparison using IECM model 40
Table 2.5: Cost of carbon dioxide avoided using IECM model ($/t CO2) 41
Table 2.6: Cost of electricity based on IPCC study ($/kWh) 42
Table 2.7: Cost of carbon dioxide avoided based on IPCC study ($/t CO2) 43
Table 2.8: Cost of electricity in EU to 2020 with, without capture (€/kWh) 44
Table 3.9: CO2 transportation costs (($/t CO2) 51
Table 3.10: Underground storage capacities (Gt CO2) 57
Table 3.11: Relationship between atmospheric CO2 concentration and change in seawater acidity
59
Table 3.12: Storage costs in geological formations as a function of storage depth (€/t CO2) 65
Table 3.13: Storage and monitoring costs ($/t CO2) 66
Table 4.14: Global hydropower capacity and potential, by region 69
Table 4.15: Global wind capacity (MW), 1997-2005 74
Table 4.16: Installed wind energy capacity by country, 2005 75
Table 4.17: Predicted European biomass generating capacity to 2020 83
Table 4.18: Annual solar cell production and cumulative capacity 86
Table 4.19: Costs of alternative technologies 92
Table 5.20: Kyoto treaty emissions limits between 2008 and 2012 by country 102
Table 6.21: Capital cost of fossil fuel plants with and without capture (EC) 108
Table 6.22: Capital cost of fossil fuel plants with and without capture (IPCC) 109
Table 6.23: The cost of electricity from fossil fuel plants with and without capture (Ecofys/TNO)
110
Table 6.24: The cost of electricity from fossil fuel plants with and without capture (IPCC) 111
Table 6.25: The cost of electricity from fossil fuel plants with and without capture (BI) 112
Table 6.26: The cost of carbon dioxide capture from fossil fuel plants (Ecofys/TNO) 113
Table 6.27: The cost of carbon dioxide capture from fossil fuel plants (IPCC) 114
Table 6.28: Costs of alternative technologies 115
Table 6.29: The cost of carbon-free electricity (€/kWh) 116
Table 6.30: The final cost of electricity (€/kWh) 119
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