Abstract The value of dispatchable, low carbon thermal power plants as a complement to intermittent renewable energy sources is becoming increasingly recognised. In this study, we evaluate the performance of post-combustion CO 2 capture using monoethanolamine (MEA) retrofitted to a 600 MW CCGT, with and without exhaust gas recycle (EGR). Our results suggest that the EGR ratio plays a primary role in the regeneration energy penalty of the process. We contrast a gas-CCS process with its coal counterpart and show that whilst CCGTs have a greater energy penalty per tonne of CO 2 captured than coal ( i.e. , G J t C O 2 G a s > G J t C O 2 C o a l ), owing to the high thermal efficiencies of CCGTs relative to coal-fired power plants, the energy penalty per MWh of low carbon energy generated is lower for gas than it is for coal ( i.e. , G J M W h G a s G J M W h C o a l ), making CCGT-CCS an attractive choice for low carbon electricity generation.