Captured: first tonne of dirt from clean coal plant

Australia’s first “clean coal” plant is finally up and running, with scientists announcing yesterday that the first tonne or so of carbon dioxide was captured and liquified at Loy Yang power station in Victoria.

A similar plant at Munmorah on the central coast is yet to show results, although the switch was ceremonially flicked last Friday.

The Loy Yang development is “a major milestone for Australia”, said the chief of the CSIRO’s energy technology division, Dr David Brockway, though many more milestones will have to be passed before it can be rolled out on a large enough scale to make any difference to the nation’s greenhouse emissions.

One possibility being examined is the contruction of giant solar thermal plants next to coal-fired stations, with the former powering the latter’s carbon capture mechanisms.

Sydney Morning Herald