U.S., NORWAY VOICE SUPPORT FOR CCS TEST CENTER NETWORK

Karen Frantz
GHG Monitor
11/08/13

Energy secretaries from the U.S. and Norway affirmed support for a network of carbon capture and storage test centers at a ministerial meeting of the Carbon Capture Leadership Forum this week, saying the countries will jointly provide resources for administration and development in the network’s first four-year period and will be the first to hold chairmanship. The CCS Test Centre Network fosters knowledge-sharing of the technology. It is comprised of several carbon capture test facilities across the world, and founding members include the CO2 Technology Centre Mongstad in Norway, the National Carbon Capture Center and Southern Company’s CCS demonstration facility in the U.S., J-Power in Japan, ENEL Engineering and Research in Italy, E.ON in Germany, DOOSAN Power Systems in the UK and SaskPower in Canada. It was formed in 2012 and will be holding its first official meeting on Nov. 25 in Brussels.

Norwegian Minister for Petroleum and Energy Tord Lien said, “We have agreed to move the cooperation within carbon capture to a new level. The pilot network will contribute to the development of carbon capture and ensure that relevant technologies are adopted … We all agree that we need to share ideas, knowledge and experiences in order to find commercially viable solutions. Existing infrastructure must be utilized in an efficient manner. We must learn as much as possible from each other. This requires cooperation and joint efforts from the industry, the research community and governments.” U.S. Secretary of Energy, Ernest Moniz, also added that the network “provides enhanced technology learning, which is beneficial to many, a base of factual evidence, increased awareness, acceptance and reduced risks.”