Low-carbon energy demonstration projects

Clean coal technologies

Queensland's commitment to clean coal technologies is underscored by three demonstration projects of national and international significance.

The projects will use integrated carbon capture and storage, the key technology recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The projects are:

• ZeroGen, Central Queensland  - a more than $1 billion demonstration project that integrates coal-based gasification with carbon capture and storage. The first phase of test drilling for carbon storage has been successfully completed. Shell is assisting ZeroGen in some of the technically challenging areas of this leading edge demonstration project.
  
  
• CS Energy's Oxyfuel Project at Callide A Power Station, Central Queensland - a $206 million project that has the potential to significantly reduce the cost of capturing CO₂ from conventional coal-fired plants. The technology is of particular importance to the coal and electricity industries because it can be retrofitted to existing boilers. It has been endorsed by the Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (AP7) and is supported by a diverse consortium of global partners.
  
  
• Fairview Power Project - a $445 million Santos and GE Energy proposal to build a coal bed methane gas fired power station north of Roma. The proposed power station will capture the CO₂ emissions generated in the process and inject them back into the depleted coal seams for permanent storage underground.