An Australian-first carbon capture plant has been opened by Federal Energy Minister Martin Ferguson in central Queensland.
The $200 million Callide OxyFuel Project, near Biloela west of Gladstone, is a joint venture between the Japanese and Australian governments as well as several industry groups.
The facility is the first in the world to be retro-fitted onto an existing power station and uses the Oxyfuel process, which uses pure oxygen to burn coal as opposed to air which contains 78 per cent nitrogen.
The Australian Coal Association says the technology can reduce carbon emissions from coal-fired electricity plants by up to 90 per cent.
The project is expected to run well into 2014.
