South Perth-based energy player Aviva Corporation Ltd is seeking to further underline its environmentally friendly credentials by funding a national research project looking at underground CO2 storage.
Aviva has commissioned a $250,000 study by the Canberra-based Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies to assess the potential for geosequestration near its Coolimba power station project near Eneabba, south of Geraldton.
Large scale commercial capture of CO2 resutling from the production of energy has not been successfully undertaken anywhere in the world.
The proposed Coolimba project is a $1 billion power station centred around a 400 megawatt coal-fired power station, which is expected to play a significant role in meeting energy demand in the Mid West.
Mining activity and minerals processing is expected to increase significantly due to the host of small iron ore players in the area.
Aviva chief executive Lindsay Reed said in a statement that the project would help put WA at the forefront of carbon sequestration and low emission electricity production.
Aviva claims other environmentally friendly aspects for its plant, including desulfurisation technology to eliminate most sulphur emissions and air cooling technology to reduce water consumption in the power plant by up to 90 per cent.
Aviva also has a major interest in the Mmamantswe coal project in Botswana, located on the South African border, a site it said was well placed to take advantage of local infrastructure.
In other news, funds associated with San Francisco-based Passport Capital LLC increased their holdings in Aviva recently, climbing to 9.32 per cent from 7.48 per cent.
Passport manages about $3.9 billion invested across a range of sectors.
Aviva shares have been trading at around 80 cents each lately, recovering from a slump in the last quarter of calendar 2007 when they dropped from highs of over a $1 to well under 60 cents each.
