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Celebrating commercial carbon capture at Boundary Dam

October 2, 2014 | By Anthony Capkun


October 2, 2014 – The Boundary Dam Integrated CCS Demonstration project (Unit 3)—touted as world’s first commercial-scale carbon capture and storage process on a coal-fired power plant—officially opened today in Estevan, Sask.

“Coal is a key resource in both Canada and the U.S. and, through the development of clean coal technology, we can create North American independence and energy security,” said U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp, adding that “we can learn from the steps Canada has taken to find a realistic path forward for coal”.

CLICK HERE for a video tour of the project.

Premier Brad Wall, Canada’s minister of natural resources Greg Rickford, Saskatchewan economy minister Bill Boyd, and SaskPower president & CEO Robert Watson were on hand to officially open the project. The launch was also attended by more than 250 guests from more than 20 countries representing governments, industry and media.

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“This project is important because it is applicable to about 95% of the world’s coal plants,” said Boyd. “As nations develop emission regulations, they will come to us to see how we continue to provide affordable coal power to customers, but in an environmentally sustainable way.”

When fully optimized, SaskPower’s new process will capture up to a million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. The power unit equipped with CCS technology will continue to use coal to power about 100,000 Saskatchewan homes and businesses. The captured CO2 will be used for enhanced oil recovery, with the remainder stored and monitored permanently underground.

The feds say Canada has invested $240 million from Budget 2008 toward SaskPower’s $1.4-billion project to integrate CCS at its existing Boundary Dam coal-fired power plant. Since 2008, the government says it has invested over $580 million in R&D and demonstration of CCS technologies through NRCan’s ecoEnergy Technology Initiative (ecoETI), the Clean Energy Fund (CEF), ecoENERGY Innovation Initiative (ecoEII) and the Program for Energy R&D (PERD).

“Today’s announcement—a world first—demonstrates Canada’s leadership in developing clean energy technology,” said Rickford. “Saskatchewan’s Boundary Dam project is a prime example of how Canadian expertise is helping reduce emissions, while growing the economy.”

Photos © SaskPower


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