Assessment for Carbon Capture and Storage Opportunities: Greek Case Study

Abstract

Abstract The energy balance of Greece is strongly dependent on imported oil. The rather late introduction of natural gas has increased the diversity of the energy mixture with the share of renewable sources still low and the need to increase according to the existing potential. Yet, Greece as the most of the EU countries encounters a serious task: the need to increase its electricity production that increases 5% per year but at the same time to reduce the C02 emissions according with the National and International (20-20-20) regulations and plans. Therefore reducing C02 emissions has become a major priority for national government. Even more, from 2013 and onwards there will be the full implementation of the wholesale market in the European Trading Scheme (ETS) which is currently in the last stages of a transition phase. In Greece electricity is generated mainly from lignite thus making the electricity sector the main one for the GHG emissions with levels that are above 40% of the total in the country and more than the average of the corresponding ones of the rest of the EU countries. The possible implementation of the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology would be able to become very important due mainly to the large use of the lignite as the major fuel on the energy mixture of the country. CCS technology has the potential of increasing the flexibility on the achievement greenhouse gas emissions reduction by allowing the continuing use of fossil fuels, which still guarantees feasibility in the energy sector. This work presents a roadmap with the modeling of the main technologies associated to the CCS and their implementation into the Greek energy system considering existing National and International Strategic energy plans under different scenarios. The implementation of CCS technologies would have a large influence on the national electrical power production, having the responsibility for large shares of the emissions reduction that can potentially achieved in this sector. For this purpose, the TIMES (Integrated MARKAL/EFOM System) has been chosen as the principal tool for building a technical-economic model of the Greek energy system and its possible evaluation over time (2040).