Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Administration launched a national carbon capture and storage alliance March 28 as part of government efforts to reduce greenhouse emissions.
“This initiative will help the government attain its goal of capping Taiwan’s 2020 emissions at the 2005 level,” said EPA Minister Stephen Shen.
According to the minister, a key alliance pilot program involves the removal, capture and storage of 10,000 tons of carbon dioxide in natural geological caverns deep underground. “The program is set to begin in 2015 with wide-scale deployment expected by 2020,” he said.
Shen believes that Taiwan’s geology makes it a suitable candidate to develop multiple CCS technologies. “Land-based and offshore carbon dioxide storage capacity measures a sizeable 2.8 billion and 113.5 billion tons respectively,” he said.
The alliance, which includes the Bureau of Energy, Council for Economic Planning and Development, National Science Council, CPC Corp. and Taiwan Power Co., is expected to be at the forefront of the country’s CCS research and development efforts, Shen said.
“But this program needs full participation from the private sector to reach its potential. We urge local firms to join the alliance and help minimize environmental damage.”
