ESTEVAN - The carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility at SaskPower's Boundary Dam Power Station enjoyed another strong three months of performance.
During the third quarter of 2023 (July 1-Sept. 30), the capture island was available 98.3 per cent of the time, capturing 217,366 tonnes of carbon dioxide. The 98.3 per cent rate is the highest level recorded in the past five quarters.
Unit 3 at Boundary Dam, which is connected to the CCS facility, was available 97.4 per cent of the time.
The target is for Unit 3 to be available 80 per cent of the time, while the objective for the CCS facility is to be accessible for 75 per cent.
The acid plant was online 60.3 per cent of the time, below the goal of 70 per cent. And 984.7 tonnes of sulphuric acid were produced, which is below the threshold of 1,250 tonnes.
While online, the CCS facility had a daily average capture rate of 2,674 tonnes, with a peak one-day capture of 2,852 tonnes. This resulted in an emissions intensity of 407 tonnes of carbon dioxide per gigawatt hour, which is within the current federal carbon tax threshold.
In the first nine months of this year, 592,490 tonnes of CO2 have been prevented from entering the Earth's atmosphere thanks to the CCS facility. And since the process started in October 2014, 5,594,203 tonnes have been captured.
