ZeroGen

ZeroGen was a proposed Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project in Queensland. It was proposed by ZeroGen Pty Ltd, a Queensland government owned company, which stated that the first stage of the project would be to build a 120 megawatts gross coal gasification plant located near Rockhampton in Central Queensland by 2012. However, in late October 2011, the company was put into receivership by the Queensland government. Announcing the collapse of the project, the Queensland Deputy Premier Andrew Fraser stated that the project was not financially viable. "I think it's important to acknowledge here that we're talking about the potential for billions of dollars to be invested in this technology," he said.

The CCS Dream
"CO2 emissions will be captured at site and transported approximately 220 kilometres by truck for injection and safe storage in deep underground reservoirs in the Northern Denison Trough," the company's website states. The feasibility study on this part of the project is expected to be completed Stage One feasibility study is now expected to be completed by the end of 2009.

The second stage of the project, depending on the outcomes of the first stage, would involve the construction of a 400 megawatt CCS project in Queensland at a site yet to be determined. The pre-feasibility and feasibility studies for the second stage are scheduled to commence in the second quarter of 2008.

The estimated cost of the total project had been reported as being $1.7 billion, "$500 million more than originally planned."

While major environmental groups such as Greenpeace oppose CCS, the ZeroGen project has gained the support of WWF-Australia and the CFMEU. A ZeroGen media release cited WWF-Australia CEO, Greg Bourne, as statiung that "rapid deployment of demonstration plants like ZeroGen is necessary to determine whether CCS is practical for broad application."

Federal funding
In December 2009 the Federal Minister for Resources, Martin Ferguson, announced that the government would spend up to $120 million on pre-feasibility work on four CCS related projects, one of which was the Wandoan project. In a media release Ferguson stated that the project "aims to store up to 2.0 mega tonnes of CO2 per annum. The project is near prospective geological formations for CO2  storage that are under assessment.."

Related SourceWatch Articles

 * Andrew Garnett
 * Kelly Thambimuthu
 * Australia and coal
 * Carbon Capture and Storage
 * Carbon Capture and Storage demonstration projects worldwide
 * Carbon Capture and Storage Flagships Program
 * Carbon Capture and Storage in Australia
 * Carbon Capture and Storage demonstration projects worldwide

External resources

 * Peta Ashworth, Shelley Rodriguez and Alice Miller, "Case Study of ZeroGen Project", CSIRO Energy Transformed Flagship, October 2010. (Pdf)

External articles

 * Martin Ferguson, "CCS Flagship Projects Short-Listed", Media Release, December 8, 2009.
 * Patrick Lion, "Coal project our latest cash pit", The Sunday Mail (Qld), December 18, 2010.
 * Patrick Lion, "State Government drops ZeroGen project after taxpayers pump $150 million into the plan", The Sunday Mail (Qld),   December 19, 2010.
 * Graham Lloyd, "ZeroGen decision on the money", The Australian, December 20, 2010.
 * "Queensland delays ZeroGen project", Carbon Capture Journal, December 20, 2010.
 * "Bligh scraps 'clean coal' power station plans", ABC News, December 20, 2010.
 * Maria Hatzakis, Paul Robinson and Andree Withey, "Dumping ZeroGen plan threatens coal industry: union", ABC News, December 20, 2010.
 * Andrew Fraser, "Chief quits clean coal project, citing inaction", The Australian, December 21, 2010.
 * Patrick Lion, "ZeroGen update: staff exodus, the warning we never heard and the flipping and flopping", "Pineapple Politics Blog", Courier Mail, January 2, 2011.
 * Patrick Lion, "How to lose $164 million of taxpayer funds: A special presentation by ZeroGen", "Pineapple Politics Blog", Courier Mail, June 26, 2011.
 * Patrick Lion, "Wheels up! The ZeroGen speaking circuit rolls on…", "Pineapple Politics Blog", Courier Mail, August 2, 2011.
 * "ZeroGen collapse shows it’s time for clean energy", Media Release, October 28, 2011.
 * Patrick Lion, "Clean coal shambles as ZeroGen project collapses", The Daily Telegraph, October 28, 2011.
 * Patrick Lion, "Anna Bligh's team wastes another $116m on controversial ZeroGen clean-coal debacle", Courier-Mail, October 28, 2011.
 * "ZeroGen another Qld Labor failure: oppn", NineMSN, October 28, 2011.