RWE investigates carbon capture options for Pembroke Power Station

RWE has signed a contract with engineering and construction firm Fluor to investigate carbon capture options for Pembroke Power Station.

Fluor specialises in carbon capture projects and the contract will investigate the feasibility of retrofitting post-combustion capture of carbon at the site. 

The study is expected to take six months, completing in early 2023. 

This feasibility study is part of RWE’s ambitious decarbonisation plans centred around the Pembroke Net Zero Centre (PNZC), which brings together knowledge and expertise from across RWE’s offshore wind, gas-fired generation and hydrogen businesses to develop green energy solutions for both Pembrokeshire and the South Wales region. 

This is the second project to come out of RWE’s Pembroke Net Zero Centre (PNZC), which launched earlier this year. 

This report will form part of the analysis required for RWE to participate in the UK Government’s carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) cluster sequencing process. 

This was a commitment to deploy CCUS in a minimum of two industrial clusters by the mid-2020s, and four by 2030 at the latest in support of the UK’s transition to net zero.

RWE is developing options for the decarbonisation of its 2.2 gigawatt gas-fired power station in Pembroke, among them post-combustion carbon capture and the introduction of hydrogen as a clean fuel. 

Pembroke’s South Wales location provides it with the unique advantages of being within an industrial hub and creating collaboration opportunities with partners from within the South Wales Industrial Cluster (SWIC) who together cover the full low carbon value chain, including – from the necessary ship transport and storage of CO2 to the supply of clean hydrogen.

Richard Little, director of the Pembroke Net Zero Centre, said: “RWE is committed to decarbonising its business by 2040, a date that in the UK fits nicely alongside the government’s ambition for a net zero power sector by 2035. 

“Through our PNZC we will create a hub for our green energy projects, including the development of floating wind in the Celtic Sea, the development of a hydrogen electrolyser and decarbonisation of Pembroke Power station through a mixture of carbon capture and hydrogen fuel. We are already working with South Wales businesses to help them meet their decarbonisation targets, while supporting Welsh government achieve its ambitions for net zero.”

Julian Marschewski from RWE Generation’s Strategic Development department, added: “Kicking off this technical feasibility study with Fluor is an important step towards creating tangible options for our lighthouse decarbonisation project at Pembroke. 

“The experience gained will also give us a better understanding on how to decarbonise RWE’s wider fleet of gas-fired assets.”

RWE is aiming to invest £15bn in the UK in green energy projects by 2030. 

The company has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the development of hydrogen projects across Europe, and at the same time creating skilled green jobs.

The feasibility study has been partly funded by South Wales Industrial Cluster; a consortium of Wales’s major industry, energy, infrastructure, law, academic and engineering organisations of which RWE is a key member. 

The cluster was successful in securing support from the public and private sector to develop a range of partner decarbonisation deployment projects for the region.