The calculation for the fraction of CCS plant output counted as zero carbon output needs to be rigorous environmentally, but it is essential that it is based on
actual plant performance to encourage innovation in plant design and operation and to take advantage of the inherent flexibility of CCS for reducing costs.
Surprisingly, when they placed the real
plants on the graph according to their
actual nutrient travel distances and total branch lengths, the
plants fell almost perfectly on the Pareto curve, meaning that
plants» networks of branches are finding the best balance between cost and
performance for their particular environment.