SAfrica wants carbon capture at new coal-fired plants

South Africa wants all new coal-fired power stations and coal-to-liquid plants to have mandatory facilities to capture carbon dioxide emissions, a government minister said on Monday.

The move comes as South Africa — a major emitter of harmful greenhouse gases, with some 90 percent of its electricity produced from coal-fired plants — strives to build a low-carbon economy amid global climate concerns.
“Are we saying that from now on CCS (carbon capture and storage) will be mandatory for all new power stations? The answer is, Yes,” Environmental Affairs Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk told reporters.

No power plant yet operates anywhere worldwide with CCS equipment attached, and only a handful of countries including the United States, Britain, Canada and Norway, have pledged public money to test the technology on a commercial scale.

Those demonstration plants are expected to start operating from 2012-14 at the earliest.

Guardian