Who is CCPC?
CCPC current members include several companies representing a substantial portion of Canada's coal producers and coal-fired electricity generation capacity. A North Dakota utility, Basin Electric Power Cooperative (BEPC), representing the lignite utilities in that state and the California-based Electric Power Reach Institute (EPRI) have also joined our coalition: BEPC
EPCOR
EPRI
Sherritt International
Nova Scotia Power
SaskPower
TransAlta Who we are
The Canadian Clean Power Coalition (CCPC) is an association of responsible, leading coal and coal-fired electricity producers and the California-based Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). We believe that coal, along with a diverse mix of fuels like hydro, natural gas, wind, solar and nuclear, will play an important role in meeting the energy needs of the future. Our goal is to secure a place for coal-fired electricity generation within Canada's multifuelled electricity sector. What we do
The CCPC's mandate is to research, develop and demonstrate commercially viable clean coal technology. We plan to facilitate the building of full-scale, coal-fired demonstration plants in the next decade. The demonstration plants, expected to be in operation by 2012 to 2015, will be designed to remove greenhouse gas and all other emissions of concern from a 'greenfield' facility. The role of coal
Coal has a vital role to play in the future of electric power generation in Canada, and the rest of the world. In Canada approximately a fifth of our electricity is generated by coal. Alberta, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia all depend on coal for 70 per cent of their needs, with coal supplying 25 per cent of Ontario's net generation. Internationally, dependence on coal is even more acute. In China, 81 per cent of electric power is fuelled by coal and in India that number is about 75 per cent. In the United States, coal accounts for 57 per cent of total generation. Canada's coal resource
Coal is Canada's largest fossil fuel reserve. In Alberta alone, there is enough coal to meet 143 years of America's present energy requirement. Coal has strong economic advantages over competing fuels because of its low-cost stable prices and large, proven reserves. It is our belief that we will be able to help meet Canadian's need for low-cost reliable power and address the environmental challenges associated with coal-fired generation. What is "clean coal" technology
Clean coal technology refers to technology that virtually eliminates air and carbon dioxide emissions from coalfired power plants. We are talking about a step change improvement beyond the best technology currently available. At minimum, the CCPC's coal-fired demonstration plant will have lower air and carbon dioxide emissions than the world's best combined cycle gas turbine - for all intents and purposes, those emissions will be eliminated.
Moving ahead
The first phase was completed in early 2004. The technology gaps identified in the first phase were addressed by additional studies. This work was completed in early 2007. We estimate that it will cost well over $1 billion dollars over the next ten years to develop and construct a clean coal demonstration plant.
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