GHG Monitor
8/28/2015
ON THE INTERNATIONAL FRONT
In its recently submitted Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Australia has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. The INDCs are public commitments made by countries stating what they intend to do to combat the global issue of climate change. The UNFCCC had asked governments to submit these plans by the end of March, well ahead of the 21st Conference of the Parties to be held in Paris in December, at which time a new international climate agreement is hoped to be reached. The document, submitted Aug. 11, says Australia “reserves the right to adjust our target and its parameters before it is finalised under a new global agreement should the rules and other underpinning arrangements of the agreement differ in a way that materially impacts the definition of our target.”
U.K.-based engineering firms Apollo and Dundas Consultants have been selected to deliver engineering services to the nation’s National Grid as part of the White Rose Carbon Capture and Storage Project under development in Yorkshire, Apollo announced last week. Once completed, White Rose will be a fully equipped oxy-fuel combustion CCS facility and would capture 90 percent of its carbon dioxide emissions for transport to a storage site beneath the North Sea seabed. “We are delighted to be servicing this world class project with the combined expertise of both Dundas and Apollo. The expertise of our engineers for oil and gas is directly transferrable to offshore CCS projects and we look forward to adding value to the client’s project team,” Richard Woodhouse, director at Dundas, said in a release.
Norwegian Technology Center Mongstad (TCM) said this month it has launched a new test campaign on the use of monoethanolamine (MEA) solvent systems in an amine plant. According to an Aug. 12 TCM release, “MEA is a widely used solvent by companies for benchmarking and improving their technology. So by thoroughly testing the MEA solvent system in the Amine plant, and openly sharing some of that information, TCM stands to help technologists around the world maximise the performance of their technologies and advance the CCS industry on a major scale.” The new test campaign will explore the measurement and evaluation of various parameters, such as energy consumption, emissions, degradation, and plant operability.
