NRG to test CO2 capture at coal unit

http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSN0257439020071102

HOUSTON (Reuters) - NRG Energy Inc. said it will build one of the largest projects to test technology needed to capture and sequester carbon dioxide on a commercial scale at a Texas coal-fired power plant.

Princeton, New Jersey-based NRG, the second largest power generator in Texas, said it signed a memorandum of understanding with New Hampshire-based Powerspan Corp to test its technology for carbon dioxide capture from conventional coal-fired power plants.

Carbon dioxide is widely blamed for global warming and existing coal plants account for nearly 40 percent of all CO2 emissions in the U.S.

"As part of our aggressive effort to 'get the carbon out of coal,' we are proud to help demonstrate the viability of this promising technology for post-combustion carbon capture at WA Parish," said David Crane, NRG chief executive in a statement.

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gaseous CO2 underground. I call THAT sweeping it under the rug - it's still there, and HASN'T been dealt with....

From the referenced article ...

> Powerspan's technology, called ECO2, uses an ammonia-based solution to
> capture CO2 from flue gas emitted after combustion.
> The captured CO2 can be transported for permanent storage.
> ...
> Once captured, the CO2 is expected to be used in enhanced oilfield recovery
> operations in the Houston area.

Waste more energy to create the "ammonia-based solution".
Waste more energy transporting the ammonia/CO2 mix around the countryside.
(Hmmm ... bet *those* containers wouldn't survive a train-derailment or
crash on the roads - unlike the ones used for transporting nuclear waste ...)
Waste more energy separating the CO2 from the ammonia (how re-usable is it?).
Pump whatever CO2 hasn't been lost during the process into the ground
to extract more fossil fuel to create more CO2 in the atmosphere
(and hope that the CO2 from the previous fossil fuel combustion actually
*stays* underground ...).

Can you say "suicidal scam"? I thought so ...

:-(

...Oh, my bad.

Sorry, it seems we're actually all re-skewered.