S Korea seeks low-CO2 thermal power plant construction

South Korea plans to develop technology to build a thermal power plant in a bid to reduce its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 2020, the government said Tuesday.

According to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, the government will push for extensive research and development into so-called carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology in the coming years, which it believes to cut down on CO2 levels by more than 90 percent by the target year.

The technology is likely to be used by thermal power plants along with steel mills and oil refineries that release a lot of greenhouse gases, an official at the ministry said.

According to the official, Seoul also plans to establish a consortium to build a pilot 500 megawatt power plant that could gauge the feasibility of CCS in actual working conditions by 2015.

With the South Korean government already having made CO2 and other greenhouse gases, it says it will spend 100 billion won (85.5 million U.S. dollars) in state funds to conduct necessary research by 2013.

Source:Xinhua