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31 May 2009 - UK utility Scottish Power has begun capturing CO2 emissions from a generator, testing the experimental technology to avoid releasing greenhouse gases for the first time on a coal fired power station in the country.
According to Bloomberg, the "small-scale" trial at the Longannet plant in Scotland will trap gas from 1 MW of output, the company said in a statement. The unit of Spanish utility Iberdrola aims to extend the coverage from 1 MW, which supplies about 1000 homes, to 330 MW by 2014.
The UK has pinned its hopes on carbon capture and storage devices, or CCS, to blunt the environmental impact of burning fossil fuels. The government has short-listed Scottish Power and the German utilities E.ON AG and RWE AG to receive state funding for a commercial-scale trial of the technology.
"There are over 50 000 fossil-fuel power stations in operation throughout the world," Scottish Power Chief Executive Officer Nick Horler said. "By proving that CCS technology can be retrofitted to existing stations, we can begin to address the carbon lock-in from these power plants."
Scottish Power will capture CO2 emissions from coal combustion, using a 30-ton Aker Solutions ASA unit. Scottish Power will test only equipment that captures the gases, leaving the storage element for later.
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