Prospects for application of CCS in Finland

In this paper, the possibilities and conditions for CCS applications in Finland are assessed. The study includes an overview of Finland's current climate and energy policy framework, mapping of large CO₂ emission point sources and identification of possible CO₂ transportation and storage alternatives. The future role of CCS in the Finnish energy system is further assessed with energy and emission scenarios created with a comprehensive model called TIMES-Nordic. There are several large CO₂ emission sources in Finland that could be potential candidates for CCS, including steel works, power and heat generating plants, as well as oil refineries. In 2008, the 12 largest facilities in the Finnish emission trading registry accounted for 30% of the total CO₂ emissions in Finland. Since the Finnish bedrock is not suitable for large-scale geological storage of CO₂, captured CO₂ would most likely have to be transported to the North Sea or Barents Sea for long-term storage. Most of the largest CO₂ emitting facilities are located on the coast line of Finland, which facilitates transportation of CO₂ by ship. The current Finnish climate and energy policy largely focuses on increasing the share of renewable energy and nuclear power in energy conversion, which leaves less room for CCS. The preliminary results from the scenario calculations indicate that the share of CO₂ mitigation by CCS in Finland would be less than 10 Mt/a CO₂ by 2050. However, Finland has also large, stationary CO₂ emissions originating from biomass combustion in the pulp and paper industry. When assuming that biogenic CO₂ emissions would be included into the emission trading system, the CCS potential rises up to 18 Mt/a CO₂ by 2050.