BHP Billiton and Saskatchewan-based electricity provider
SaskPower have signed an agreement to establish the BHP Billiton SaskPower
Carbon Capture Knowledge Centre to help advance Carbon Capture and Storage
(CCS) as a means of managing greenhouse gas emissions.
BHP Billiton will contribute C$4 million per year for five
years to fund the Knowledge Centre, which will operate as a Not-For-Profit
Canadian Corporation in Regina, Saskatchewan.
BHP Billiton Chief Commercial Officer, Dean Dalla Valle,
said accelerating the development and deployment of low-emissions technologies
was vital in addressing the challenges posed by climate change.
“By enhancing global access to the data, information and
lessons learned from SaskPower’s unique Boundary Dam facility – the first power
project to successfully integrate CCS – we aim to stimulate broader deployment
of the technology,” Mr Dalla Valle said.
Boundary DAM is the world’s first commercial scale carbon
capture and storage process on a coal fired power plant.
SaskPower President and CEO Mike Marsh said he was pleased
to be able to partner with BHP Billiton through the Knowledge Centre.
“Talks between our two companies began at a United Nations
climate change conference in Peru in late 2014. Just over one year later, we
are celebrating a ground-breaking Knowledge Centre that will offer the world a
vehicle to advance the technology and commercial viability of CCS,” Mr Marsh
said.
In welcoming the agreement Premier of Saskatchewan Brad Wall
said Saskatchewan continued to be a pioneer in carbon capture and storage
technology.
“SaskPower’s partnership with BHP Billiton will allow us to
share the benefits of CCS with the world while continuing to reduce carbon
emissions here at home,” Premier Wall said.
Under the agreement, BHP Billiton and SaskPower will each
appoint two directors to the Board of the Knowledge Centre and another three
independent directors will be appointed collectively.
It is intended that the Knowledge Centre will help inform a
range of interested parties, including governments, universities, industry and
research organizations, on practical considerations in the development and use
of CCS. It will be staffed by people
with appropriate knowledge of CCS and Boundary Dam, either seconded from SaskPower
or employed directly by the Knowledge Centre.
Credits: BHP Billiton
