THE FULL FUEL-CYCLE OF CO2 CAPTURE AND DISPOSAL .3. AFFORESTATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

This paper reports on the assessment and valuation of the environmental impacts arising from the full fuel cycles of three fossil fuelled power plants equipped with CO2 capture and disposal facilities. The first of these is a Natural Gas Combined Cycle (NGCC) plant featuring CO2 separation and disposal to a disused gas well. The second is an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) plant featuring CO2 separation and disposal to the deep ocean. The third case is a pulverised fuel plant with flue gas desulphurisation (PF+FGD) with CO2 capture by a managed forest at a site remote from the power plant. A wide variety of impacts have been assessed at local, regional and global scales. They include accidents affecting workers and the public, the effects of atmospheric emissions on health and buildings and the impacts of global warming. Issues associated with management of the forest designed to capture CO2 from the PF plant and assessment of the associated costs are also described.