Techno-economic assessment of CO₂ capture retrofit to existing power plants

Although doubts about the technical and economic viability of retrofit to existing plants can be identified there have also been suggestions that CO ₂ capture retrofits at appropriate sites could be economically attractive. The potential to extend the life of existing plants with paid-off capital could be beneficial and some project developers are exploring retrofit opportunities for CO₂ capture demonstration. This paper (and the accompanying study commissioned by IEAGHG) shows that there is a sound theoretical basis for CCS retrofits to existing power plants to be considered as a complement, and in some cases as an alternative, to new build power plants with CCS. A key recommendation resulting from the technical and economic analysis undertaken is that a general rejection of retrofitting on grounds such as the age or lower efficiency of existing plants is not justified. Instead CCS retrofits need to be assessed on a site-specific basis, which is feasible since only a relatively small number of plants (order 100's) need to be retrofitted in order to have a significant impact on global CO₂ emissions. Initial site-by-site retrofit potential studies using aerial photographs that have already been undertaken in several countries could be complemented by additional, more detailed, engineering studies and extended as ongoing national reference databases.