DECC pulls plug on CCS project

11th November 2011


Related Topics

Related tags

  • Mitigation ,
  • Energy ,
  • CCS

Author

IEMA

Europe's third-largest coal-fired power station, Longannet in Fife, will not now pioneer carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the UK, after DECC and the consortium developing the technology failed to agree funding for the project.

The 2,400MW power station, which is owned by ScottishPower, was the only facility left in the government’s original competition to develop a commercial-scale CCS demonstration plant. The government now intends to channel the £1 billion earmarked for CCS into other projects.

“Despite everyone working extremely hard, we’ve not been able to reach a satisfactory deal for a project at Longannet at this time, so we’ve taken the decision to pursue alternative projects,” said the energy and climate change secretary Chris Huhne.

Scotland’s first minister, Alex Salmond, described the decision as a “deep disappointment”.

“CCS technology requires the courage and the vision to make the investment happen, and that is what has been lacking in successive Westminster administrations. At a time when North Sea revenues are coming in at record levels, it was surely not too much to expect that the Treasury would make the necessary funding commitment for Longannet to go forward. The cost would have been less than a tenth of this year’s estimated North Sea revenues of £13.4 billion,” he said.

The Longannet CCS consortium, which in addition to ScottishPower includes the National Grid and Shell, has invested £20 million in research and development.

The information, described as the most detailed of a commercial-scale, end-to-end CCS project ever conducted in Europe, will now be made available to other developers.

Seven potential UK CCS demonstration projects, including Longannet, were among 13 applications submitted to the European Investment Bank in May for funding under its NER300 process.

A decision on the projects to receive funding is expected next summer. With Longannet out of the running, the six remaining projects will now also be the focus for financial support by the UK government.

Subscribe

Subscribe to IEMA's newsletters to receive timely articles, expert opinions, event announcements, and much more, directly in your inbox.


Transform articles

Weather damage insurance claims hit record high

Weather-related damage to homes and businesses saw insurance claims hit a record high in the UK last year following a succession of storms.

18th April 2024

Read more

The Scottish government has today conceded that its goal to reduce carbon emissions by 75% by 2030 is now “out of reach” following analysis by the Climate Change Committee (CCC).

18th April 2024

Read more

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has issued a statement clarifying that no changes have been made to its stance on offsetting scope 3 emissions following a backlash.

16th April 2024

Read more

While there is no silver bullet for tackling climate change and social injustice, there is one controversial solution: the abolition of the super-rich. Chris Seekings explains more

4th April 2024

Read more

One of the world’s most influential management thinkers, Andrew Winston sees many reasons for hope as pessimism looms large in sustainability. Huw Morris reports

4th April 2024

Read more

Alex Veitch from the British Chambers of Commerce and IEMA’s Ben Goodwin discuss with Chris Seekings how to unlock the potential of UK businesses

4th April 2024

Read more

Regulatory gaps between the EU and UK are beginning to appear, warns Neil Howe in this edition’s environmental legislation round-up

4th April 2024

Read more

Five of the latest books on the environment and sustainability

3rd April 2024

Read more

Media enquires

Looking for an expert to speak at an event or comment on an item in the news?

Find an expert

IEMA Cookie Notice

Clicking the ‘Accept all’ button means you are accepting analytics and third-party cookies. Our website uses necessary cookies which are required in order to make our website work. In addition to these, we use analytics and third-party cookies to optimise site functionality and give you the best possible experience. To control which cookies are set, click ‘Settings’. To learn more about cookies, how we use them on our website and how to change your cookie settings please view our cookie policy.

Manage cookie settings

Our use of cookies

You can learn more detailed information in our cookie policy.

Some cookies are essential, but non-essential cookies help us to improve the experience on our site by providing insights into how the site is being used. To maintain privacy management, this relies on cookie identifiers. Resetting or deleting your browser cookies will reset these preferences.

Essential cookies

These are cookies that are required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our website.

Analytics cookies

These cookies allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors to our website and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works.

Advertising cookies

These cookies allow us to tailor advertising to you based on your interests. If you do not accept these cookies, you will still see adverts, but these will be more generic.

Save and close