Minister for Natural Resources, Mines and Energy and Minister for Trade

The Honourable Stephen Robertson

Minister for Natural Resources, Mines and Energy Stephen Robertson today welcomed the Global Carbon Capture & Storage Institute's (Global CCS Institute) announcement of $1.83 million in-principle support for the Callide Oxyfuel Project.

Minister Robertson said recognition from the prominent international organisation shows that Queensland is doing the bright thing by pursuing low emission and cleaner energy solutions.

"Initiatives like the Callide Oxyfuel Project are moving Queensland closer to reducing our carbon footprint by one third by 2020," Mr Robertson said.

"We're investing in renewable and low emission technologies to supply cleaner electricity to Queenslanders."

The Callide Oxyfuel Project aims to demonstrate how carbon capture, using oxyfuel combustion, can be combined with carbon storage to dramatically reduce emissions at a coal-fired power station.

The project is retrofitting oxyfuel technology to CS Energy's Callide A Power Station near Biloela to enable it to generate electricity in oxy-firing mode from mid-2011 for up to three years. The Global CCS Institute funds will enable the project to evaluate options for the test injection of carbon dioxide from the Project, and facilitate the development of large-scale carbon dioxide storage projects in Queensland.

"The Callide Oxyfuel Project is one of only a handful of coal-fired low emissions projects in the world to move past concept to construction phase," Mr Robertson said.

"More than 60 staff and contractors have been onsite receiving and installing the equipment to allow the oxy-firing demonstration to be undertaken."

"These demonstration projects are essential for testing leading edge technology for future application at a commercial scale."

The Global CCS Institute and the Callide Oxyfuel Project will now finalise a funding agreement for the test injection. The Callide Oxyfuel Project is a joint venture between CS Energy, the Australian Coal Association, Xstrata Coal, Schlumberger, and Japanese participants, JPower, Mitsui and IHI Corporation. The project has also received financial support from the Australian, Queensland and Japanese governments.

"The Callide Oxyfuel Project is just one of a number of carbon capture and storage (CCS) initiatives that the Bligh Government is progressing, as part of its commitment to deliver a clean energy future for Queensland," Mr Robertson said.

More information on these projects is available online at the Queensland Government's Energy Futures website

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