First plants/new technologies for CCUS Conference

By Stephen Arbogast

Wind/solar and battery storage have inherent limitations that produce rising costs as they are pushed towards generating base load electricity. Consequently, other forms of generation must compensate for their intermittency and integration costs. Natural gas power plants are thus a natural companion for wind/solar – but even these plants add to GHG emissions. CCS technologies offer a potential means for decarbonizing natural gas plants and stabilizing the grid. Longer term, they also could help decarbonize coal-based power generation in developing countries. For this to happen, these emerging technologies must first demonstrate they can be economically deployed at scale. The UNC Energy Center conference will focus on these technologies and their potential for early commercialization.