CCUS in power

The document evaluates the technical and economic performance of CCUS in power generation, highlighting that existing projects like Boundary Dam and Petra Nova have failed to meet theoretical capture rates. It notes that CCUS increases energy consumption by 20-30%, raises capital and operational costs significantly, and often facilitates enhanced oil recovery rather than permanent storage. Reclaim Finance concludes that CCUS in the power sector risks delaying the phase-out of fossil fuels and recommends that financial institutions prioritize mature sustainable energy sources like wind and solar.

• Existing CCUS power plants have failed to achieve the theoretical 90% CO2 capture rate. The Boundary Dam 3 facility in Canada lowered its target to 65% in 2021, and the Petra Nova facility in the USA has an estimated target of 65-70%, which further drops to 55-58% because the capture system is powered by a carbon-emitting gas turbine.
• CCUS implementation reduces net power generation efficiency by 6-12% because the systems consume 20-30% of the power generated. This leads to increased fossil fuel extraction and combustion to maintain power output, which increases methane leakages and CO2 emissions from the fuel supply chain.
• The technology has not demonstrated a 'learning effect' to reduce costs over time; instead, costs have trended upward from approximately US$2,900 per kW in 2007 to US$4,150 per kW in 2017. Retrofitting coal plants can double or triple costs, while for gas plants, the cost per kW can increase by a factor of 4 to 12.
• A majority of captured CO2 (73%) is used for industrial processes, primarily enhanced oil recovery (EOR) to increase oil production, rather than being stored in underground cavities (27%).

APA

Reclaim Finance (2023). CCUS in power. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/FACTSHEET-CCUS-in-power.pdf

Chicago

Reclaim Finance. CCUS in power. 2023. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/FACTSHEET-CCUS-in-power.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Reclaim Finance |title=CCUS in power |date=December 2023 |url=https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/FACTSHEET-CCUS-in-power.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{reclaimfinance2023ccus, author = {{Reclaim Finance}}, title = {{CCUS in power}}, institution = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2023}, month = dec, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/FACTSHEET-CCUS-in-power.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }