Released March 16, 2010 | GALWAY, IRELAND
en
Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--German energy giant E.ON AG (OTC:EONGY) (Dusseldorf) and ScottishPower (Glasgow, Scotland) have been awarded critical funding by the U.K. government to advance their carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects at the Kingsnorth and Longannet coal-fired power plants.
The companies will now be able to move their pilot projects to the next stage of development in preparation for ramping them up to full-scale CCS plants by the 2014 deadline. The two remaining finalists in the government's CCS-funding competition are competing for a potential jackpot of hundreds of millions of pounds to create a commercial-scale CCS plant.
This latest funding grant of an undisclosed sum will allow both companies to undertake front end engineering and design studies, which will be completed within 12 months. The government will then choose a winner, although both companies may benefit, as the government wants more than one large CCS project.
The U.K. government confirmed its intention last year to fund up to four CCS plants by 2014, the most ambitious CCS project yet by a major European nation, and outlined plans for financial incentives in its Energy Bill. For additional information, see related item from November 20, 2009 - Carbon Capture Incentive Included in New U.K. Energy Bill.
Last April, the U.K. government told energy companies that new coal-fired plants could not be built unless CCS facilities were included in the design. For additional information, see related item from April 29, 2009 - U.K. Cracks Down on Coal-Fired Plants.
"These two promising projects are at the forefront of the U.K.'s efforts to build one of the first commercial-scale clean-coal plants in the world," said Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband. "The award of design-stage funding demonstrates our commitment to this breakthrough technology. It has the potential to support tens of thousands of jobs and bring billions into the economy. CCS is the only technology that tackles carbon emissions from fossil-fuel power stations, and given the world's dependence on coal, is a vital technology to securing the world's future energy needs and tackling climate change."
Both E.ON and ScottishPower have welcomed the funding.
ScottishPower Chief Executive Nick Horler commented: "The real work of finally making CCS a commercial reality begins today, as this funding will now enable ScottishPower to take the technology from the concept to the design stage. It will tell us exactly what we need to know so that we can quickly build this new and essential technology. It also puts the U.K. back at the head of the pack when it comes to delivering full-scale commercial CCS on a global stage. We will deliver our plans to DECC a year from now, putting both us and the U.K. government in a position to understand exactly what it will take to make CCS a reality by 2014."
Dr Paul Golby, chief executive of E.ON UK, added: "This is excellent news for the development of clean coal in the U.K., coming as it does hard on the heels of our announcement about our scoping application for the Kingsnorth CO2 pipeline. It's absolutely vital that we get CCS right, and it's especially heartening to see that we're now getting some real movement here in the U.K."
Earlier this month, E.ON released details for making the 1,940-megawatt (MW) Kingsnorth plant in Kent the centre of a carbon-capture pipeline network. For additional information, see related article from March 4, 2010 - E.ON Proposes Carbon Capture Pipeline for Kingsnorth. Rival ScottishPower has similar CO2 pipeline plans for its 2,304-MW Longannet plant in Fife, Scotland, recruiting Shell UK (London, England), a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE:RDS.A) (The Hague, Netherlands) and National Grid plc (NYSE:NGG) (London) to help create a viable method of transporting and storing captured CO2 under the sea bed. For additional information, see August 20, 2009, article - ScottishPower Signs Shell, National Grid as CCS Partners.
Other notable CCS projects in the U.K. include the project at the Hatfield coal-fired integrated gas combined-cycle plant in Hatfield by Powerfuel Power Limited (Doncaster, England). The project was a big winner last year, when the European Commission awarded it 180 million euros ($247 million) in funding. For additional information, see December 10, 2009, article - Europe Releases 1.5 Billion Euros in Grants for CCS and Offshore Projects.
View Plant Profile - 1041652 1078259 1087990
View Project Report - 200002120
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. IIR'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.
The companies will now be able to move their pilot projects to the next stage of development in preparation for ramping them up to full-scale CCS plants by the 2014 deadline. The two remaining finalists in the government's CCS-funding competition are competing for a potential jackpot of hundreds of millions of pounds to create a commercial-scale CCS plant.
This latest funding grant of an undisclosed sum will allow both companies to undertake front end engineering and design studies, which will be completed within 12 months. The government will then choose a winner, although both companies may benefit, as the government wants more than one large CCS project.
The U.K. government confirmed its intention last year to fund up to four CCS plants by 2014, the most ambitious CCS project yet by a major European nation, and outlined plans for financial incentives in its Energy Bill. For additional information, see related item from November 20, 2009 - Carbon Capture Incentive Included in New U.K. Energy Bill.
Last April, the U.K. government told energy companies that new coal-fired plants could not be built unless CCS facilities were included in the design. For additional information, see related item from April 29, 2009 - U.K. Cracks Down on Coal-Fired Plants.
"These two promising projects are at the forefront of the U.K.'s efforts to build one of the first commercial-scale clean-coal plants in the world," said Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband. "The award of design-stage funding demonstrates our commitment to this breakthrough technology. It has the potential to support tens of thousands of jobs and bring billions into the economy. CCS is the only technology that tackles carbon emissions from fossil-fuel power stations, and given the world's dependence on coal, is a vital technology to securing the world's future energy needs and tackling climate change."
Both E.ON and ScottishPower have welcomed the funding.
ScottishPower Chief Executive Nick Horler commented: "The real work of finally making CCS a commercial reality begins today, as this funding will now enable ScottishPower to take the technology from the concept to the design stage. It will tell us exactly what we need to know so that we can quickly build this new and essential technology. It also puts the U.K. back at the head of the pack when it comes to delivering full-scale commercial CCS on a global stage. We will deliver our plans to DECC a year from now, putting both us and the U.K. government in a position to understand exactly what it will take to make CCS a reality by 2014."
Dr Paul Golby, chief executive of E.ON UK, added: "This is excellent news for the development of clean coal in the U.K., coming as it does hard on the heels of our announcement about our scoping application for the Kingsnorth CO2 pipeline. It's absolutely vital that we get CCS right, and it's especially heartening to see that we're now getting some real movement here in the U.K."
Earlier this month, E.ON released details for making the 1,940-megawatt (MW) Kingsnorth plant in Kent the centre of a carbon-capture pipeline network. For additional information, see related article from March 4, 2010 - E.ON Proposes Carbon Capture Pipeline for Kingsnorth. Rival ScottishPower has similar CO2 pipeline plans for its 2,304-MW Longannet plant in Fife, Scotland, recruiting Shell UK (London, England), a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE:RDS.A) (The Hague, Netherlands) and National Grid plc (NYSE:NGG) (London) to help create a viable method of transporting and storing captured CO2 under the sea bed. For additional information, see August 20, 2009, article - ScottishPower Signs Shell, National Grid as CCS Partners.
Other notable CCS projects in the U.K. include the project at the Hatfield coal-fired integrated gas combined-cycle plant in Hatfield by Powerfuel Power Limited (Doncaster, England). The project was a big winner last year, when the European Commission awarded it 180 million euros ($247 million) in funding. For additional information, see December 10, 2009, article - Europe Releases 1.5 Billion Euros in Grants for CCS and Offshore Projects.
View Plant Profile - 1041652 1078259 1087990
View Project Report - 200002120
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. IIR'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.
