ENABLING FLEXIBLE OPERATION OF CCS PLANT WITHIN A HIGH RENEWABLES POWER SYSTEM

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) will likely play an important role in future low carbon power systems which still rely on fossil fuel powered generators to provide stability and back-up generation. Plant flexibility, in terms of minimum generation levels, ramping and reserve capabilities, will be critical for low carbon power systems with high shares of variable renewable generation. While CCS plant have the potential to greatly reduce carbon emissions, they can also be expected to reduce the flexibility of the plant. Alternative configurations can alleviate the inflexibility of the CCS plant, which can have significant impacts on the overall operation of the system, in terms of costs, renewable curtailment levels and emissions.