Accelerating deployment of retrofitable CO2 capture technologies through predictivity: (Simulation, verification, validation / uncertainty quantification) - 2010 Annual report (for year 1 of 3) to DOE NNSA from The University of Utah

There is an ever increasing national awareness that an effective, sustainable energy future must include fossil-fuel utilization that deploys cost-efficient technologies (both new and retrofit) that significantly improve energy efficiencies and reduce CO2 emissions over existing electric power and thermal generating plants. For example, a recent symposium on retrofitting coal-fired power plants concluded that: "The retrofit, rebuild, or re-powering of the existing coal fleet, in the US and in China, to reduce CO2 emissions dramatically is a necessary step towards achieving green house gases (GHG) stabilization targets. Practical options that will justify the vast investments needed over the next decades require validation from demonstration, development and research. Failure to do so will both drive up CO2 prices (and the cost of electricity) and leave us with a continuing dearth of appropriate technology options." What technologies should be implemented? How rapidly can and should we implement a given option? What will be the cost? What will be the consequences?