CCS plant at Mongstad will be completed in 2018
Einar Håndlykken, general manager of the environmental foundation ZERO, is disappointed by the decision.
- It is embarrassing for the government. The Parliament elections is
in 2013, this means that with the current delay, one leaves in
practice the decision to a new Parliament. The Goverment is letting the
project go, says Håndlykken.
ZERO pointed out already in 2006 that it was a very bad idea to not
require CO2 capture from day one, "notes Håndlykken. History shows,
unfortunately, that we were right. Unless companies have a time
pressure on them to get a capture plant in place, things take a very
long time. The consequence now should be that there is no permission
for the gas power plant to be continued after 2014, when the discharge
permit expires, - until you have a capture plant in place.
The left wing party (SV) leader Kristin Halvorsen said in 2005, that
the gas power struggle in Norway was over. The government promised to
clean Kårstø as quickly as possible and no later than 2009. Kårstø were
postponed indefinitely in the revised national budget for 2009. In
connection with the conclusion of the Mongstad (Fall 2006) the
government promised, through the so-called "implementation agreement"
the following:
* The Test Center Mongstad (TCM) should be completed in 2010.
Status: Will be completed in 2011.
* The emissions from the Test Center Mongstad should be deposited.
Status: This was abandoned by the government in autumn 2008, the plant now emitts 100 000 tonnes of CO2 annually.
* Full-scale plant at Mongstad was to be completed in 2014.
Status: Full-scale plant will now, after the government has
postponed the investment decision until 2014, not be completed until
2017-2018, 11-12 years after the agreement was signed.
* One should look at cleansing of the entire refinery at Mongstad.
Status: It now looks like the capture facility will be about half
as large as planned, and it will only cleansthe gas power plant.
- When they have to suspend all projects for so many years of study,
something has gone seriously wrong, said Håndlykken. Now, millions of
tons of CO2 is emitted to the atmostphere. In addition, Norway will
lose leadership role internationally, and contributes to a delay of the
technology worldwide, he said.
http://www.reuters: Norway delays Mongstad CCS
