Munmorah PCC

Facts:

Main developer: CSIRO

Science agency CSIRO and Delta Electricity concluded a post-combustion capture pilot programme at Delta's Munmorah Power Station in New South Wales in 2010. The A$5-million pilot plant became operational in February 2009, and data from the programme was to be used to inform a large-scale demonstration at Vales Point. As of May 2012, the pilot plant was set to be moved to Vales Point for further research during 2012. No further details are available.

The original pilot was focusing on adapting the ammonia absorption process for Australian coal-fired power plants. It was one of two Australian pilots being run by CSIRO as part of the Asia Pacific Partnership (APP) on Clean Development and Climate’s project CFE-06-06, which is testing post-combustion capture for coal-fired power plants. The second pilot is Tarong PCC. Download the APP project report, June 2012, here.

Delta announced the closure of Munmorah, which had been on standby since 2010, in July 2012. The company cited decreasing energy demand, high maintenance costs for the ageing plant and the carbon tax as factors in its decision.

Financing

Part-funding for the pilot scheme was provided by the Australian Coal Association’s COAL21 Fund – administered by ACALET – which has allocated A$50 million to pilot and demonstration projects in NSW. There was also support through the APP.

Timing

The pilot project at Munmorah concluded in 2010.

More information and press releases

NewGenCoal webpage on Munmorah pilot
COAL21 handout showing funding allocations
Delta commitment to reducing GHGs
APP project roster with links to project update

Storage:

The plant is currently capturing - and releasing - up to 3000 tonnes per year of CO2. The results will feed into the development of an A$150 million, large-scale post-combustion capture and storage project in NSW, which is scheduled for start-up in 2015. This aims to capture up to 100,000 tonnes a year of CO2, and will include the transport of captured gas and storage within geological formations that are still to be selected. To this end, the NSW government has begun a drilling programme in the region, targeting four potential CO2 storage sites within the state. Transport and storage of CO2 is not part of the current project.

Companies involved

Main contact person:

• Paul Feron, (CSIRO, PCC science leader)