Economic Analysis of Dispatchable CCS Integrated with Wind Power

Post-combustion Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) promises to substantially reduce CO2 emissions from conventional coal-fired power plants. The key barrier to commercialization is its high operational cost due to a significant energy penalty. Dispatchable CCS has the potential to reduce the revenue loss by taking advantage of the volatility of energy prices. In addition, dispatchable CCS can serve as a cost effective way to integrate intermittent electricity generation from renewable sources. This project investigates the economic feasibility of retrofitting Powerton Power Plant in Illinois with dispatchable CCS (both in two-mode and three-mode arrangements) and integrating it with one local wind farm. A simulation model is used to estimate the incremental costs and incremental revenues associated with a dispatchable CCS system and wind integration in comparison to conventional continuously-operated CCS system. According to the simulation results, flexible operation of CCS integrated with wind power effectively mitigates the profit loss due to the CCS energy penalty. A two-mode arrangement dispatchable CCS integrated with this wind farm generates approximately 2.5 billion dollars in a period 30 years while the total profit from a three-mode arrangement system varies from 1 to 2.4 billion dollars. Comparing incremental costs and revenues, it can be concluded that the two-mode arrangement is more suitable for Powerton power plant because it generates positive profit even without the wind farm. More research needs to be conducted before we extend this conclusion to other utilities, however, flexible operation of CCS and synergy with wind power promise to lower the carbon price needed to make CCS economic.