Oil giant Shell and Dutch energy company Essent are to study the feasibility of a 1,000MW carbon capture and storage (CCS) power plant in the Netherlands.

The companies say most of the CO2 produced by the power plant would be captured and stored underground. Coal and solid biomass would be gasified to produce synthesis gas, which in turn is used to make hydrogen. The hydrogen would then be used to generate electricity in turbines.

The companies are looking at possible sites for the plant in the south-west part of the Netherlands and the study will assess which depleted oil and gas fields would be suitable for CO2 storage. Because of the volume of CO2 involved, the study will consider both onshore and offshore fields.

Peter de Wit, executive VP for clean coal energy at Shell, said:

“Our world’s leading gasification technology has been developed in the Netherlands. It is a tried and tested process for converting various energy resources, including coal, into electricity in the cleanest possible way.”

There was also reference to the financial and regulatory support the project will need from the Dutch government – something which raises serious questions about the the cost of carbon capture projects.

The press release said:

“For large-scale CO2 capture and storage, CO2 transport infrastructure and suitable storage locations are essential. Governments must create the regulatory framework that will encourage their development.”

The whole clean coal and CCS debate is a controversial one and this latest CCS proposal comes as a new advert by a coalition of environmental groups claims ‘clean coal’ simply doesn’t exist. Check out the video ad on YouTube here.

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