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CCS in Germany

CCS in Germany. London, 7-11-2011 Ludwig Krämer Kramer.ludwig@skynet.be. State of transposition of Directive 2009/31. Until now, the Directive is not transposed into German law. April 2009 First bill on CCS submitted to Parliament.

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CCS in Germany

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  1. CCS in Germany London, 7-11-2011 Ludwig Krämer Kramer.ludwig@skynet.be

  2. State of transposition of Directive 2009/31 Until now, the Directive is not transposed into German law. April 2009 First bill on CCS submitted to Parliament. Bundesrat (Second Chamber) agrees, asks for some amendments. The political parties in the Bundestag (First Chamber) are divided. The bill is not discussed. Becomes obsolete with elections. April 2011 New Bill submitted to Parliament. September Bundesrat rejects the Bill. October Government appeals to the Parliamentary conciliation committee. November on 8-11, the conciliation committee will discuss the Bill and try to find a compromise.

  3. Obligation to transpose? Directive 2009/31, Article 4(1): [There is a] „right of Member States not to allow for any storage in parts or in the whole of their territory“. Capture is not regulated by the Directive Precedents: nuclear installations; [incinerstion of waste]

  4. Geological and geographical conditions • Available CO² storage capacity : estimations vary between 3 and 42 billon tons Empty gas fields (2.75 billion tons); empty oil fields (0.13 million tons); mainly deep saline aquifers. (2) There is no final map on appropriate storage sites. The provisional maps which were published, showed storage sites mainly in Northern Germany (Niedersachsen and Schleswig-Holstein), while coal occurs mainly in North-Rhine Westfalia and Brandenburg (lignite), and power plants are erected there.

  5. Policy context in Germany • Political parties Liberals Rather in favour Conservatives split: federal/Land level Social democrats split: federal/Land level Greens: against (hampering renewables) Left Party against (Bill on a total ban) 2. Advisory boards: Cautiously in favour (exports; but Norway experience not convincing) 3. Public opinion Completely opposed (everywhere)

  6. Main reasons for opposition • Store CO² where it is generated („storage“ is misleading; it is „disposal“); • Affected Länder do not want to become the CO² waste bin („WC“)for Germany; • Technology will be industrially available only by 2025; this is too late; by then, renewables will be able to substitute coal; • Technology only serves to allow the construction of more coal power plants; • Investment very expensive; money is better spent on renewables; • Problems for human health and private property; problems in tourist areas.

  7. The own legal opinion • Captured CO² is waste; • It is the legal „sin“ of the Directive to declare waste legislation inapplicable; • Decisions on landfills of waste are taken, in Germany, at local or provincial level; It is not wise to regulate CO² landfills at federal level.

  8. CCS activities so far • Pilot plant Schwarze Pumpe (Brandenburg) Vattenfall – 30MW, lignite In operation Capture of CO² by oxyfuel combustion Since 2011, parts of CO² transported by trucks to Ketzin Stored underground. (2) Goldenberg plant (Hürth) RWE – 450 MW, coal; Plant to be constructed by 2014; Storage CO² 600km away in Schleswig-Holstein (pipeline); Citizens initiative and political party opposition in S.-H. led to a rejection of the storage plan; In 2009, RWE suspended further work on the project

  9. The Bill on CCS – pilot phase Allowed are only research, demonstration and pilot projects which • were applied before 31-12-2016; • do not store more than 3 million metric tons/year; • do not lead to more than 8 million metric tons/year overall storage in Germany Permits for pilot projects are not limited in time. Comprehensive evaluation of the experience with CCS technology by 2017; report to Parliament. As Member States may prohibit CCS altogether, a pilot phase appears to be compatible with the Directive.

  10. The Bill on CCS – selection of sites According to the Bill, a Federal Agency shall establish a list of geologically appropriate sites in Germany, using the input of the Länder and own scientific findings. Thus, the Bill is based on the assumption that any decision by a Land – see hereafter – is made on sites which are on the list. Conflict between a land and the Federal Agency, whether a site is appropriate: the Federal Agency decides.

  11. The Bill on CCS – regional application „The Länder may decide, by way of legislation, that an exploration and demonstration of permanent storage is only permitted in certain areas or is not permitted in certain areas“ (Article 2(3)) This clause is politically understood in a sense that the Länder may prohibit CO² storage altogether. Legally, this seems to be wrong.

  12. The Bill on CCS – transfer of responsibility The operator of a storage site may ask for a transfer of responsibilities at the earliest 30 years after closure of the storage site. The responsibility then is transferred to the Länder. The operator must have contributed to the post-closure storage costs (3 per cent of the value of the CO² emission allowances under the system of Directive 2003/87 that were saved by the storage, or at least, the likely costs of monitoring the storage site for thirty years after the transfer of responsibility Article 31). The Länder ask that responsibility be shifted to the federal level (Bund), not to them.

  13. The Bill on CCS - liability • Liability for personal injury and economic damage Strict liability; joint and several liability (2) After the transfer of responsibilities where wrong staments were made or information on problems was not transferred to the competent authorities (3) Liability for restoring the impaired environment (Directive 2004/35) Strict liability; peremption after 30 years.

  14. The Bill on CCS - conflicting uses No provision on conflicting uses in the Bill The owner of an exploration permit has priority over other applicants, with regard to storage facilities (Art.12(4)). Where an exploration permit is granted, no other exploration of the subsurface may take place.

  15. Conclusion • Germany is late in transposing Directive 2009/31 • The fate of the Bill will be decided in the last weeks of 2011. • There is strong and general public opposition to have CO² storage in Germany. • It is doubtful, whether there is an obligation to transpose the Directive. • Germany intends to introduce a pilot phase for CCS technology (until 2017) • The detailed provisions of the Directive are more or less correctly taken over by Germany.

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