The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) – the US Department of Energy national laboratory that drives innovation for environmental sustainability, updated its widely used study on the performance and cost of natural gas and coal power plants.
The report is a key reference for contemporary carbon capture systems applied to pulverized coal (PC) and natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) electricity generating units.
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It is titled “Cost and Performance Baseline for Fossil Energy Plants, Volume 1: Bituminous Coal and Natural Gas to Electricity” and is used by industry, researchers, and policymakers in decision-making processes regarding carbon capture installations. The newly revised analysis contains detailed performance and environmental profiles as well as cost conclusions for 23 power plant configurations.
“Compared to Revision 4 of the report published in 2019, the revised study – Revision 4a – includes new cases for H-class NGCCs and incorporates updated quotes for the Shell CANSOLV post-combustion capture system… The revision also extends carbon capture rates for PC and NGCC cases to greater than 90%, which will support the Administration’s goal for a decarbonized power sector by 2035,” said Tommy Schmitt from NETL who authored the report.
He also adds that the data in the report shows a trend of lower costs from the previous revision’s conclusions from 2019. There is also a relatively small impact on the cost of capture going from 90% to 95% capture rate.
One of the types of carbon capture plants on natural gas facilities called NGCC F-class with 90% capture, has updated post-combustion capture system results that show the levelized coat of electricity (LCOE) increases by 1.8% from 90% to 95% capture.
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As a result of the updated performance and cost, the price of CO2 capture for the 90% CCS F-class decreased from $80 to $61 per tonne, with little change as the capture rate is increased from 90% to 95%.
The calculations from the report will serve as the basis for multiple follow-on analyses, including NETL’s NGCC and PC carbon capture retrofit studies, accompanying Carbon Capture Retrofit Databases, and an updated coal-biomass cofiring (up to 100% biomass) with carbon capture study.
The carbon capture industry is reliant on performance and best-practices studies that could drive its technological advancement and efficiency. NETL is an institution that fosters innovation and delivers technological solutions for environmental sustainability while also developing technologies to manage carbon across the full life cycle – a critical role in the future net zero world.
