US aims for carbon capture in a decade

The US wants to have technology for coal-fired power stations to capture and store their carbon dioxide emissions ready for commercial deployment within a decade, said Steven Chu, the energy secretary.

If the US can keep to Mr Chu’s ambitious timetable, its technology would be ready for deployment sooner than in the European Union, which has until now been more aggressive in pursuing carbon capture.

Capturing the carbon dioxide from fossil-fuel power stations is widely seen as essential to delivering steep cuts in emissions. Mr Chu said the US could have 10 to 12 commercial demonstration projects operational by 2016, ready for wider commercial deployment by 2019. In a letter delivered to a meeting of ministers and industry leaders to discuss carbon capture in London, he said: “Can this aggressive timeline be achieved? Having examined the technology and consulted with leading scientists, researchers and industry experts over the past few months, I am convinced the answer is Yes.”

Europe had hoped to have 10 to 12 demonstration plants operational by 2015, but the timetable appears to be slipping and fewer projects are likely to receive EU backing.

Mr Chu said the US government was investing $4bn (£2.5bn) in carbon capture, with a further $7bn coming from the private sector. More than $1bn of government support was being made available to “resurrect” the FutureGen project, a planned coal-fired power plant with carbon capture and storage, he added. The US is also looking at retrofitting carbon capture to existing plants and researching ways to store carbon dioxide safely. Mr Chu said he was “hopeful” an energy and climate bill would pass into law in time for the Copenhagen climate talks in December. But he said the US had other ways of demonstrating its commitment to cutting emissions, such as its $80bn investment in clean energy and energy saving.

“It is very important for the US to go to Copenhagen showing that it really is serious,” he said.