CO2-afvang installatie Maasvlakte

Toespraak | 03-04-2008

The Netherlands is doing everything to combat climate change. Because there is no choice: we've got to use all our options. Carbon Capture and Storage [CCS] is one of the options to help solve the CO2 emissions issue in the Netherlands.

First and foremost, we must explore as many ways as possible to save what energy we can, and to use renewable energy sources, like wind and solar power.

But thats not enough. Fossil fuels are still the dominant resource 90% of our total energy use is generated from fossil energy sources. And thats not likely to change for some time to come.
In the face of an explosive energy use in emerging economies such as India and China, there will continue to be a growing demand for fossil fuels;

Promising new technologies, like Carbon Capture and Storage, can help out. They can buy us time as we develop our economies to rely on sustainable energy systems. In the meantime we must develop technologies to make clean usage of our fossil energy sources. CCS, or Carbon Capture and Storage, is such a technology. CCS means capturing CO2 emissions from industrial activity, and transporting and storing the CO2 in onshore or offshore geological formations.

CCS is our third main strategy in addition to energy economy and energy generation from renewable sources. My view is that the development of CCS should not occur at the expense of practising energy efficiency, and the development of sustainable energy sources!;

Capturing CO2 is the most complex part of this technological challenge. The current technology takes too much extra energy and is relatively costly.
Research is being undertaken around the world to develop the most efficient and cost-effective emissions capture technology. Issues such as infrastructure, sufficient and safe storage capacity, and effective cost control are key in this research.

This is a challenge that tests the creativity of the great innovators of this world.
However I expect to hear the exultant Eureka in time to ensure that the first industrial applications of the technology will be seen in the Rijnmond region and in the north of the Netherlands, sometime between 2015 and 2020. This means well be ready for the rollout of CCS around the year 2020;

The importance of research is clear, and the Netherlands pulls its weight through the national research program CATO. In the coming months, the principle of learning by doing will play a central role with various pilots and demo projects taking place, of a similar nature as the plant we are commissioning here today;

The European Commission unanimously recognises the importance of developing CCS.
The European Council has pledged to support, very early on, any measures stimulating CCS as the preferred technology in newly built power stations. The message is clear: stop talking and start walking! We want to achieve state of the art status with this new technology, as soon as possible, and CO2 capture is the determining factor. Meanwhile, we must assure our power stations are capture-ready.
We aim for costs to be half of what they are now.
The challenge: further refining the technology, while making considerable progress towards meeting reduction targets.

The technology to be tested by E.ON is relevant in the context of large-scale industrial applications, and for almost all power stations, not only in the Netherlands, but worldwide. Finding the most effective technology for extracting post-combustion CO2 will pave the way to significant emission reductions in power generation worldwide, both in new and existing power plants;

The industrial potential of CCS in the Netherlands is significant, and is not restricted to power stations only. Hence it is understandable that not only the Rijnmond region, but industrials such as Corus and AKZO are equally interested in participating in CCS projects. The Rotterdam Climate Initiative talks about striving for the cleanest possible industries.

It is the ambition of the Dutch government to be a CCS-frontrunner in Europe. To speed up the development of CCS the Minister of Economic Affairs and I have established the Public-private Taskforce CCS. The chairman of this Taskforce is Stan Dessens. Several key persons from the business society and the environmental movement take part. The overall goal of the Taskforce is to create conditions for the utilization of

CCS in 2015 in large scale demonstration projects in the regions Rijnmond and the north of The Netherlands.

In the years ahead the Netherlands is investing in CO2 capture and demonstration projects.
Projects that aim to refine the technology of capturing as much CO2 as possible from industrial emissions. Rijnmond and the Noord-Nederland region have already started such programs;

The demo projects which are financially supported by the government must be implemented as soon as practically possible, in preparation for large-scale industrial and commercial application of the new technology. The results of these projects will enable the industries and regions to make important investment decisions;

To prevent large quantities of CO2 from entering the atmosphere, safe transportation and safe underground CO2 storage systems must be developed. In the Netherlands, depleted natural gas fields can be used to store CO2;

These empty gas fields used to contain natural gas, and we will now put CO2 back into them.
The Netherlands has extracted natural gas from the earth over many, many years; we are now depositing the residual product of our energy usage, CO2, back into the soil.

The essence is that we want to be certain the CO2 is stored definitively and safely, in the knowledge that the natural gas was safely stored in those same gas fields for millions of years;

We anticipate that underground storage technologies will be applied in the market commercially, on a large scale, by the year 2020; both by existing industries and by new industries and power plants;

So, whos going to foot the bill? In the Netherlands, we abide by the rule that the polluter pays. The same principle goes for CCS. The cost will be paid for by the CO2 producers.

The Dutch government, on its part, provides essential incentives to assure safe CO2 management, through safe transportation systems and storage basins, mindful of the potential long-term implications. As part of those incentives, it may be necessary to review our existing mining and substances legislation. In other words, the government is doing its bit, by making CCS an interesting and sound business case for the market;

Let me say a few words now about the role of the European Union and the emissions trade. Under the European Emission Trading Scheme, a company pays for the right to emit CO2. This right will become more expensive in the coming years. In the Netherlands it should become cheaper to store CO2 underground. Once weve achieved that point, companies will be motivated to store CO2 underground. At an expected CO2 price of somewhere between 35 and 55 €s, CCS will have established its place in the market;

Via the European regulatory systems it is now up to us to create a practicable framework for application of CCS in our internal market, and to ensure the benefits of CCS for the Emission Trading Scheme are taken into account. This is an important part of the EUs climate and energy package: companies that invest in CCS will save on expensive ETS rights, which their competitors are paying for.

We must also provide guarantees that justify the necessary long-term investments. A European Industrial Initiative will be launched to bring together the main players, and to provide clear guidelines for developing the new technology;

It goes without saying that major investments are needed to finance the demonstration projects, and to get commercial development under way. Public‑private partnerships are a possible source of funding. This could include, for example, channelling the proceeds of the ETS auctions towards the development of CCS.
The market has much to gain from CCS. Yet if this market were to be reluctant in responding to the incentives I have just mentioned, I personally feel and I know this view is shared by the European Commission that one ought to consider a mandatory introduction of CCS technology. Our cabinet has proposed to the Commission that an interim evaluation be conducted in 2015.

This will enable us to review whether or not a regulated introduction program would need to be put in place in order to speed up large-scale commercial and industrial application of CCS;

Finally, let me say that I applaud this initiative of E.ON. E.ONs aim to invest in industrial use of this clean coal technology has my total support. Mr van Dijk of E.ON has made it known previously that, in his company, the development of CCS is priority No. 1.

This connects perfectly to my policy, as formulated in Clean and Efficient programme, and will boost the markets confidence in this new technology. A confidence that is now demonstrated by pioneer E.ON, as its new power plant will be capture ready!;

Ladies and Gentlemen, on our journey towards sustainable energy sources, Carbon Capture and Storage is a technology that holds very interesting prospects.

A technology that buys us time. I encourage other energy providers to follow in E.ONs footsteps. Don't miss the boat, lets invest together in energy economy, in sustainable energy sources, and in the development of CCS. Its our ticket to a sustainable future!

Thank you.