Capital Power advances carbon capture project at Alberta power plant

Capital Power Corp. is moving forward with a plan to add a carbon capture and sequestration project at its Genesee power plant in Alberta, the company said June 27.

The Edmonton, Alberta-based company selected Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group and Kiewit Energy Group to conduct a front-end engineering and design study for the planned C$1.6 billion carbon capture and sequestration project.

The project would capture 3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, which would then be transported and stored through Enbridge Inc.'s proposed open access Wabamun carbon hub, Capital Power said.

The study will include determining the preliminary design for integrating the project with the repowered Genesee 1 and 2 natural gas-fired units and producing a class 2 capital cost estimate. The study is expected to be completed by June 2023.

The study will also be conducted in parallel with engineering work to advance the Enbridge-led open access Wabamun carbon hub.

Capital expects to make a final investment decision on the carbon capture and sequestration project by mid-2023, subject to certain conditions including regulatory certainty on investment tax credits, carbon pricing and additional funding mechanisms.

The project is expected to start capturing carbon as early as 2027, the company said.

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