Authors
Matthew Yates and Others
Many nations are targeting an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050 but carbon goals cannot be met with more renewables and until storage technology is advanced coal will continue to play an important role in the generation mix. Carbon capture technology is currently expensive and unproven and commercial solutions are unlikely to be available until 2015 at the earliest. Carbon is currently trading at around €15/ton in the EU, free in the US and expensive carbon capture technology is likely to push up carbon prices, meaning traditional utilities can expect higher capex for retrofitting thereby pushing up power prices.