OREANDA-NEWS. July 05, 2011. Toshiba  Corporation (Tokyo: 6502) today announced that the company has been selected to conduct a feasibility study (FS) in Bulgaria, under "Feasibility Studies for Development of Projects Applying Systems Making Highly Efficient Use of Coal", a program sponsored by Japan's New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). The Bulgarian FS will run from July 2011 through to the end of March 2012.

The FS is based on the Japanese government's policy of promoting economic growth in Japan while reducing global emissions of CO2 by deploying Japan's leading energy and high efficiency technologies overseas, and will see Toshiba investigate the construction of a super critical coal-fired thermal power plant with carbon capture and storage (CCS) facilities in the Maritsa East thermal power plant complex in south-central Bulgaria. Toshiba will conduct the FS with support from other parties, including Schlumberger Carbon Services, Sofia University and  Taisei Corporation.

Thermal power is a central pillar of stable energy supply that today accounts for two thirds of power generation worldwide. In Bulgaria, over fifty percent of total power generation capacity is supplied from thermal power. Since acceding to the European Union in January 2007 Bulgaria has promoted upgrades to existing thermal power plants to secure higher efficiency. Toward securing further reductions of greenhouse gases, Bulgaria is now also considering installing CCS facilities at new thermal power plants.

Toshiba initiated R&D into CCS technology in 2006, focusing on an amine-based chemical absorption system that consumes less energy in the CO2 separation and capture process. Further validation of this technology has been undertaken since September 2009 at a pilot facility at Mikawa Thermal Power Plant in Japan.

Toshiba Group's rich experience in the Bulgarian market includes providing equipment for the Chaira hydro power plant and rehabilitation of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant and Maritsa East 2 thermal power plant. In January this year, Toshiba and Bulgarian Energy Holding EAD (BEH) signed a Memorandum of understanding (MoU) on discussing further developing cooperation in the fields of energy and energy efficiency. The potential relationship between the parties envisages closer cooperation in energy generation, including thermal power, hydro power, nuclear power and solar photovoltaic power, and increasing the efficiency of power transmission and distribution through the development of smart grids.

Both BEH and Bulgaria's Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism, reflecting the spirit of the MoU, supported Toshiba's proposal for the FS, as investigation of the overall optimization of thermal power plants equipped with CCS. The scope of the FS is deemed to meet the Bulgarian government's objectives of securing a stable and environmentally compatible energy supply.