The Contribution of Carbon Capture and Storage to the Decarbonization of Coal-Fired Power Plants in Selected Asian Countries
Hon Chung Lau
Abstract
About 26% of global CO 2 emissions came from coal-fired power plants (CP) in 2021. Furthermore, 72% of this came from Asian countries, especially China and India. Therefore, reducing CO 2 emission from CPs is a must if Asian countries were to achieve net-zero CO 2 emission by 2050 or soon afterward. In this study, we evaluate the potential contribution of carbon capture and storage (CCS) to decarbonize CPs in selected Asian countries. Our study area consists of the east coast of China, India, Sumatra, West Java and Kalimantan of Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, and Thailand which contains one-quarter of the global CP capacity. We screen all existing CPs in the study area for CCS retrofit readiness, considering the size and age of CPs, the CO 2 transportation distance, and the storage capacity of nearby oil and gas reservoirs and saline aquifers. Analyses show that out of 520 CPs in the study area, 305 (59%) pass the screening criteria for CCS-retrofitting. If fully implemented at a 90% CO 2 capture rate, CCS retrofitting will result in the abatement of 1.55 Gtpa of CO 2, equal to 65% of CO 2 emission from CPs in the study area and 16% of global CO 2 emission from CPs. Furthermore, retrofitting CPs with CCS has the potential to reduce CO 2 emissions by 18% for Malaysia, 26% for India, and 26% for Vietnam. However, the biggest CO 2 abatement will be realized in India (715 Mtpa) and China (636 Mtpa). These results quantify the potential contribution of CCS in decarbonizing CPs in Asia. Policy implications to accelerate CCS implementation based on our findings are also discussed.