POWER March 2011 - 14

6. Alleviating acidification with
flue gas carbon. A lab-scale experiment
conducted by Greg Rau, a scientist from the
Institute of Marine Sciences at the University
of California, Santa Cruz and the Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory, suggests that
seawater and calcium could effectively capture
carbon dioxide from power plant flue gas. The
resulting alkaline solution of dissolved calcium
bicarbonate could then be pumped into the sea,
alleviating ocean acidification. Source: National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
tional power plants. One reason for the
cost advantage is that the limestone system
avoids " CCS's expensive capture and
purification of molecular CO2
, " he says.
The " relative technological simplicity "
of such a system makes it ideal for rapid
deployment in the developing world, Rau
argues. He admits, however, that the method's
large demand for carbonate mineral
and water would likely limit its application
to coastal sites and that more research is
needed to evaluate the system's economics,
potential scale, and permanence.
POWER Digest
GDF SUEZ, RWE, and Iberdrola Pull out
of Cernavoda Nuclear Expansion. French
power company GDF SUEZ, Germany's RWE,
and Spain's Iberdrola on Jan. 20 said they
would no longer participate in a project to
build Units 3 and 4 of the Cernavoda nuclear
project in Romania. The companies cited
tween 2.2 kilograms (kg) and 2.5 kg of
mineral carbonate aggregate of two test
types: aragonitic coral fragments and calcitic
limestone from a local quarry. The reactor
was modified to allow seawater and
gas streams to longitudinally flow though
it. After full equilibration with air, Rau
found that 85% of the captured carbon was
retained in solution-that is, it did not degas
or precipitate.
When added to the ocean, the alkaline
solution resulting from the scrubbing
process could potentially benefit marine
ecosystems that are currently threatened
by acidification, Rau further suggests (Figure
6). This would have the added benefit
of using the " vast potential of the sea to
safely sequester anthropogenic carbon, "
he says. " The experiment in effect mimics
and speeds up nature's own process. Given
enough time, carbonate mineral (limestone)
weathering will naturally consume
most anthropogenic CO2
. Why not speed
this up where it's cost effective to do so? "
Rau asserts that if the system converts
and stores 80% of CO2 as calcium bicarbonate,
it would cost less than $38/metric
ton of CO2
mitigated. This compares with
mitithe
more than $75/metric ton of CO2
gated that is estimated for CCS at conven14
" economic
and market uncertainties surrounding
the project, " which were " not reconcilable
now with the capital requirements
of a new nuclear power project. " The companies,
which had been partners in the project
with Romania's SN Nuclearelectrica since
2008, stressed in a joint statement that their
withdrawal did not reflect on the technical
quality of the project.
USEC to Extend Operation of Paducah
Gaseous Diffusion Plant. USEC announced
on Jan. 11 that it was working to extend
operation of the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion
Plant beyond May 2012. A decision about
the Kentucky plant's future, expected during
the first half of 2011, would be based on
economic considerations-including future
power prices, a " significant factor " for the
power-intensive facility, the company said.
The Paducah plant produces low-enriched
uranium used as fuel in commercial nuclear
power plants in the U.S. and around the
world. To support extended operations, USEC
is also considering enriching a portion of the
Department of Energy's depleted uranium
stockpile from its weapons programs. " Given
the current price of uranium, the federal government
could generate substantial revenue
by re-enriching portions of the depleted uranium
at Paducah to the level of natural uranium, "
the company said.
SSE and Norwegian Firms Explore
Possibility of Subsea Power Link. Scottish
and Southern Energy subsidiary SSE Interconnector
on Feb. 2 signed a cooperation
agreement with three Norwegian utilities-
E-CO Energi, Agder Energi, and Lyse-and
Swedish company Vattenfall to investigate
the feasibility of building a subsea power
link. The link would be 550 km to 700 km
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long and run between the UK and Norway.
The partners will form a new company,
NorthConnect, to undertake the project over
the next three to four years to examine the
technical and economic viability of building
and operating a high-voltage direct current
electricity interconnector, which would be
designed to transmit power in both directions.
NorthConnect is expected to conduct
a variety of assessments, including commercial,
technical, environmental, and engineering
studies to identify the best locations for
converter stations.
German Government, Firms to Test
Molten Salt Solar Thermal Technologies.
Siemens Energy on Feb. 1 announced
that it would partner with German firms and
the German Federal Ministry for the Environment,
Nature Conservation and Nuclear
Safety to build a solar thermal facility at the
University of Evora, southeast of Lisbon, Portugal,
to test molten salt as a heat transfer
medium. The project is part of the government's
" High-Performance Solar Thermal
Power " research, which seeks to enhance the
efficiency and reliability of parabolic trough
power plants. It will test different types of
salts and compositions with receiver tubes
made by Archimede Solar Energy (in which
Siemens owns a 45% stake). Partner firms
include the German Aerospace Center, K+S
AG, Senior Berghöfer GmbH, and Steinmüller
Engineering GmbH.
France Launches $13.6B Plan to Build
Offshore Wind Turbines. France, a country
that produces 74% of its power from nuclear
energy, on Jan. 25 unveiled a $13.6 billion
plan to build, for the first time, offshore
wind turbines. The 600 turbines would have
a total capacity of 3,000 MW and would be
installed at five sites in the western regions
of Loire-Atlantique, Brittany, and Normandy.
President Nicolas Sarkozy told reporters that
France will open bidding for the first phase
of the contract in mid-2011; the winning bid
will be announced in 2012. The wind farms
are expected to be operational in 2015 to
help the country meet its target of obtaining
23% of its power from renewable sources
by 2020. Wind power currently makes up less
than 2% of France's capacity.
China to Invest $121B in New Nuclear
Projects. China's government plans to raise
its nuclear capacity from 2% to 5% of its total
power generation, for a total of 86 GW
by 2020, by spending 70 billion yuan ($10.6
billion) annually, reported the state-owned
China Daily on Jan. 26. The government is
expected to approve another 10 nuclear
power projects during its 12th Five Year
Plan (2011-2015). The bulk of the investments
are to be made by the China National
Nuclear Corp., which will spend 800 billion
POWER | March 2011
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POWER March 2011

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