TransAlta, Alstom to develop Canadian carbon capture/storage project

April 3, 2008

TransAlta Corporation, a Calgary-based power generation and wholesale marketing company, and Alstom, a Parisian power generation and rail infrastructure company, have agreed to develop a large scale CO2 capture and storage (CCS) facility in Alberta, Canada.

The project will pilot Alstom’s proprietary Chilled Ammonia Process, a potentially low cost solution for CCS. TransAlta plans to test Alstom’s technology at one of its coal-fired generating stations west of Edmonton and reduce current CO2 emissions by one million tonnes per year, the company says. Coal-fired generation accounts for almost half of the generating capacity in North America.

The first phase of the overall project will begin this year with engineering, stakeholder relations and regulatory work at a cost of approximately $12 million. This, and subsequent phases, are subject to partner and government funding, and will continue over the next five years with testing expected to commence in 2012.

TransAlta has also partnered with the Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economy (ISEEE), part of the University of Calgary, to quantify CO2 sequestration potential in the Wabamum area west of Edmonton. The results, due in January 2009, will provide a scientific assessment of potential sequestration sites in the area surrounding several power plants including their capacity and security.
www.transalta.com
www.alstom.com