29 March 2012: The International Energy Agency (IEA) has published a working paper analyzing of the global coal-fired plant fleet, drawing on existing research on carbon capture and storage (CCS) retrofitting.

This study illustrates the size and regional distribution of the globally installed coal-fired power plant fleet potentially relevant for CCS retrofitting, and also presents criteria relevant to differentiating between technical, cost-effective and realistic potentials for CCS retrofits. The paper then examines the coal-fired power plant fleet from a statistical perspective, by looking at age, size and the expected performance of today’s plant across several countries. The working paper also highlights the growing demand for applying CCS retrofitting to the coal-fired power plant fleet of the future. It highlights the need for policy makers, innovators and power plant operators to quickly complete the development of the CCS technology and to identify key countries where retrofit applications will have the largest extent and impact.

IEA energy scenarios suggest that a significant share of existing and new coal-fired power plants will need to be CCS retrofitted. The paper draws some conclusions including: managing CO2 emissions from existing and new coal-will be essential for mitigating climate change cost-effectively, given increasing CO2 emission levels and an expanding global coal-fired power generation fleet; and based on available data, a significant share of the current coal power fleet can be considered attractive for CCS retrofitting. [Publication: Analysis of the Globally Installed Coal-fired Plant Fleet]