The carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility at the Boundary Dam Power Station performed well in January, capturing just over 63,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2), according to the monthly update released by SaskPower on Feb. 3.
The facility was in operation for 27 of 31 days last month, and went offline at the end of January for maintenance.
鈥淢aintenance of the facility began on January 28 and will continue into February for approximately two weeks,鈥� SaskPower stated in the January update. 鈥淭his work is in preparation for a longer, planned maintenance, of four to five weeks, scheduled to begin in June.
鈥淢aintenance work for the year will focus on increasing operation efficiencies and processes.鈥�
The 27 days spent online meant the unit was online for 88 per cent of the month. The 12-month average is 84 per cent.
Power produced peaked at 118 megawatts, which was not only above the 12-month average of 109 megawatts, but it was the highest level for power production in more than a year.
The 63,000 tonnes of CO2 captured was 63 per cent of the capacity, and was slightly below the 12-month average of 64 per cent, and below the targeted amount of 65 per cent.
The single-day peak for CO2 captured at the plant was 2,716 tonnes, and the daily average was around 2,400 tonnes, which was below the 12-month average of 2,472 tonnes.
Since start-up, the CCS facility has captured and prevented over 1.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from going into the atmosphere.
SaskPower stressed CCS remains part of their plan to reduce carbon emissions.
鈥淚n 2017, we will continue our focus on operating the facility in the most cost-effective and efficient way,鈥� SaskPower stated. 鈥淭he CCS project will provide us with valuable information to make important decisions in the coming years on our other seven coal units.鈥�
Those units include the Boundary Dam, the Shand Power Station and the Poplar River Power Station.
