Released October 20, 2011 | GALWAY, IRELAND
en
Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) -- The U.K. government has announced that it no longer intends to support the country's leading carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at the Longannet coal-fired plant in Scotland.
As reported by Industrial Info in the past fortnight, the future of the CCS project owned by ScottishPower (Glasgow, Scotland) was called into question, when it was suggested that the company was planning to halt the project due to a lack of government funding. For additional information, see October 10, 2011, article - U.K.'s Leading Carbon Capture Project Under Threat.
At the time, the government's Energy Minister, Chris Huhne, insisted that negotiations were ongoing. Today, however, Huhne admitted that no funding would be forthcoming.
"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," Huhne explained. "CCS is a key technology for the U.K.'s long term energy strategy. A billion pounds is enough to demonstrate this vital new technology in the U.K., but it's got to be spent in the most effective way."
In May 2009, ScottishPower fired up the pilot at the 2,400-megawatt (MW) power station in Fife on the east coast of Scotland, claiming it as the first CCS system to be installed at a working coal-fired plant. It was developed with Aker Clean Carbon AS (Fornebu, Norway), with the prototype CCS unit being a small-scale replica of a full-size CCS plant. Weighing 30 tonnes and covering an area of 85 square metres, it is capable of processing 1,000 cubic metres of exhaust gas per hour from Longannet. For additional information, see June 3, 2009, article - ScottishPower Fires Up U.K.'s First CCS Prototype. The plant was due to be scaled up to a 330 MW facility by 2014.
Speaking on behalf of the ScottishPower and its partners, Shell UK (London, England), a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE:RDS.A) (The Hague, Netherlands) and National Grid plc (NYSE:NGG) (London), ScottishPower's Generation Director, Hugh Finlay, said: "The Consortium is immensely proud of the work we have completed in the last 4 years. Our combined efforts have seen this potentially world-changing technology develop from being a concept in a laboratory to a definitive blueprint that could be implemented. As a result of the study we now understand how the CCS process works from power station to storage site. This gives us great insight into the physical infrastructure that we need to support it, the regulatory framework it fits within and the organisational model of a CCS business. All of this information will be made available through DECC's Knowledge Transfer programme and will be of enormous benefit to other CCS developers and stakeholders".
To reaffirm its commitment to CCS, the government said its planned 1.15 billion ($1.56 billion) for funding up to four CCS projects to demonstration level remains in place. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said that it will "pursue other projects with the £1 billion.. and it is expecting a number of promising bids from both Scotland and England".
The decision to can Longannet was seen by some as an attempt by the government to reduce CCS funding but the CCS industry has welcomed the government's statement on funding.
Dr Jeff Chapman, Chief Executive of the Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA) commented: "It is clearly disappointing that the Longannet CCS project will not proceed. However, the decision is the unfortunate result of specific issues individual to these negotiations and should in no way be taken as indicative of the readiness of CCS or the ambition of the industry. We strongly welcome the Prime Minister's commitment to safeguard the £1bn previously earmarked for Longannet and the Secretary of State's assurance that the funds will be reallocated to the next CCS projects. We urge Government to ensure that a streamlined funding and construction process is put in place to deliver the commitment to four CCS projects as smoothly and swiftly as possible".
View Plant Details - 1041652
View Project Report -300021653
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.
As reported by Industrial Info in the past fortnight, the future of the CCS project owned by ScottishPower (Glasgow, Scotland) was called into question, when it was suggested that the company was planning to halt the project due to a lack of government funding. For additional information, see October 10, 2011, article - U.K.'s Leading Carbon Capture Project Under Threat.
At the time, the government's Energy Minister, Chris Huhne, insisted that negotiations were ongoing. Today, however, Huhne admitted that no funding would be forthcoming.
"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," Huhne explained. "CCS is a key technology for the U.K.'s long term energy strategy. A billion pounds is enough to demonstrate this vital new technology in the U.K., but it's got to be spent in the most effective way."
In May 2009, ScottishPower fired up the pilot at the 2,400-megawatt (MW) power station in Fife on the east coast of Scotland, claiming it as the first CCS system to be installed at a working coal-fired plant. It was developed with Aker Clean Carbon AS (Fornebu, Norway), with the prototype CCS unit being a small-scale replica of a full-size CCS plant. Weighing 30 tonnes and covering an area of 85 square metres, it is capable of processing 1,000 cubic metres of exhaust gas per hour from Longannet. For additional information, see June 3, 2009, article - ScottishPower Fires Up U.K.'s First CCS Prototype. The plant was due to be scaled up to a 330 MW facility by 2014.
Speaking on behalf of the ScottishPower and its partners, Shell UK (London, England), a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE:RDS.A) (The Hague, Netherlands) and National Grid plc (NYSE:NGG) (London), ScottishPower's Generation Director, Hugh Finlay, said: "The Consortium is immensely proud of the work we have completed in the last 4 years. Our combined efforts have seen this potentially world-changing technology develop from being a concept in a laboratory to a definitive blueprint that could be implemented. As a result of the study we now understand how the CCS process works from power station to storage site. This gives us great insight into the physical infrastructure that we need to support it, the regulatory framework it fits within and the organisational model of a CCS business. All of this information will be made available through DECC's Knowledge Transfer programme and will be of enormous benefit to other CCS developers and stakeholders".
To reaffirm its commitment to CCS, the government said its planned 1.15 billion ($1.56 billion) for funding up to four CCS projects to demonstration level remains in place. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said that it will "pursue other projects with the £1 billion.. and it is expecting a number of promising bids from both Scotland and England".
The decision to can Longannet was seen by some as an attempt by the government to reduce CCS funding but the CCS industry has welcomed the government's statement on funding.
Dr Jeff Chapman, Chief Executive of the Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA) commented: "It is clearly disappointing that the Longannet CCS project will not proceed. However, the decision is the unfortunate result of specific issues individual to these negotiations and should in no way be taken as indicative of the readiness of CCS or the ambition of the industry. We strongly welcome the Prime Minister's commitment to safeguard the £1bn previously earmarked for Longannet and the Secretary of State's assurance that the funds will be reallocated to the next CCS projects. We urge Government to ensure that a streamlined funding and construction process is put in place to deliver the commitment to four CCS projects as smoothly and swiftly as possible".
View Plant Details - 1041652
View Project Report -300021653
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.
