Two plants to put 'clean coal' to test

摘要

When Unit 3 at the Boundary Dam Power Station in Saskatchewan, Canada, switches on later this year after a lengthy refit, it will mark a historic moment for dirty coal power. It will be the first time that a commercial-scale plant supplying electricity to the grid captures and stores a large fraction of its carbon dioxide emissions. "We're getting interest from all around the world," says Robert Watson, chief executive of provincial-government-owned plant operator SaskPower Corporation in Regina. The firm plans to sell about 1 million tonnes of CO_2 a year - up to 90% of Unit 3's emissions - to oil company Cenovus Energy of Calgary, Canada, which will pipe the compressed gas deep underground to flush out stubborn oil reserves.