CANBERRA, Australia, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- The Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute announced Monday a $50 million annual fund to support large-scale carbon capture and storage projects worldwide.
The fund will support concept and pre-feasibility studies, or contribute to specific aspects of feasibility and front-end engineering and design studies of carbon capture and storage projects.
A recent study by the institute shows there are 55 fully integrated, commercial-scale CCS projects around the world, each at a different stage of planning but all facing similar barriers to their development.
According to the International Energy Agency, the world needs to fit 3,400 coal-fired power stations with technology to capture carbon dioxide by 2050.
In a statement announcing the $50 million annual fund, Global CCS Institute chief Nick Otter said its focus is "projects that promise the greatest return towards delivering our objective of accelerating the construction and operation of CCS projects."
"We want to engage with those projects with the greatest need, which face real obstacles to their success, and towards which we can have an immediate impact," Otter said.
The institute said it also aims to help with regulatory frameworks and matching potential project partners with investors.
Global CCS Institute's deadline for applying for funding is Jan. 8, 2010.
The institute, formally launched by the Australian government in April, includes 20 national governments and 80 leading corporations, non-government bodies and research organizations among its participants. The Australian government provides $100 million each year in funding.
In other CCS news from Australia, Canberra announced Tuesday it plans to spend approximately $109 million to test the viability of four "clean coal" technology projects. The Australian government has allocated the funding to two coal-fired power stations in Queensland, a plant in Western Australia, and another in Victoria's Latrobe Valley.
Australian Energy Minister Martin Ferguson said the projects would need to prove the technology by 2011.
"The independent assessment panel has decided that these four projects represent our best opportunities at the moment for the potential commercial deployment of carbon capture and storage in Australia," Ferguson said, Australian Network News reports.
Australia, the world's highest per capita emitter of carbon, mines 318 million tons of coal each year and relies on coal for 80 percent of its electricity.
According to Energy Daily, when factoring in the 80 percent of the coal Australia exports, along with its own emissions from coal-fired plants, Australian coal is responsible for 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide each year. That's about 8.3 percent of the total global emissions from coal.
