The facility will be able to generate electricity with almost no carbon emissions by converting the waste product of oil refineries into hydrogen and separating off carbon dioxide for capture and storage.
Although some environmentalists remain sceptical about the unproven process, known as carbon sequestration, many see it as an acceptable compromise in the battle against global warming. "Wide-scale deployment of technology such as hydrogen power can make a significant contribution to the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions needed worldwide," said Ross Pillari, president of BP America.
Mr. Schwarzenegger, the actor turned California governor, said the plant, 20 miles south of Los Angeles, was a "perfect fit" for his policies for the US west coast state.The scheme mirrors one announced last June in Scotland when BP said it would construct a hydrogen plant at Peterhead separating natural gas from CO2. The £350m project involves reinjecting the greenhouse gas into the Miller oil field in the North Sea to help flush out more hydrocarbons, before being stored there.
The greenhouse gases from the Los Angeles plant are expected to be taken by pipeline to oil fields being developed by Occidental Petroleum in California. Instead of natural gas, as at Peterhead, the US plant will take petroleum coke produced as a by-product of oil refining.
Currently the waste coke is exported to China as fuel. The hydrogen plant would capture around 90% of the CO2 produced and generate 500 megawatts of power, powering 325,000 homes. But BP, and its local partner Edison Mission, have made it clear that the costs of hydrogen power are higher than traditional fuels and they will be looking for financial help.
In November BP launched plans, revealed in this paper, to invest up to $8bn over the next ten years to create a low-carbon power business. It aims to produce revenues of $6bn as the company, under chief executive John Browne, also invests in solar and wind power.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,1709284,00.html
