Released April 29, 2009 | GALWAY, IRELAND
en
Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The U.K. government has announced that there will be no more coal-fired plants built unless they come with working carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. Proposed by Ed Miliband, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, it means planning permission will be refused on any new coal-fired power plants that do not demonstrate CCS on "day one." In addition, the government is demanding a full-scale retrofit of CCS within five years of the technology being independently judged as technically and commercially proven.
The nation's Environment Agency is expected to play a key role in judging when an acceptable CCS standard is met. The government has said limited funding, based mainly on new customer levies, will be available for up to four new coal-powered plants featuring CCS.
Energy providers have greeted the news cautiously, asking for more information on the government's plans to fund the extra cost of CCS.
The government will now only consider applications if they:
Despite protests over the controversial Kingsnorth plant, a 1,600-megawatt facility that is scheduled to replace the existing 2-gigawatt (GW) plant already in place there, it was believed that E.ON would receive permission to build its "unabated" plant in the coming months. For additional information, see related December 18, 2006, news article - E.ON's $1.96 Billion Supercritical Clean Coal Project in United Kingdom.
However, the new CCS rules have thrown things into disarray and, as a result, E.ON has been somewhat forced to accept the CCS provisions in order to move ahead with its planning application. E.ON has already stated that adding CCS to Kingsnorth could cost up to 1 billion pounds ($1.46 billion).
In response to the government's announcement, E.ON U.K. Chief Executive Dr. Paul Golby said, "This is a vital step by the government that recognises the critical role that CCS will play in decarbonising the U.K. That is why E.ON is committing to fit capture technology to Kingsnorth in accordance with the government's proposed conditions, as long as it is properly funded."
Milliband said: "The future of coal in our energy mix poses the starkest dilemma we face. It is a polluting fuel but is used across the world because it is cheap and it is flexible enough to meet fluctuations in demand for power. In order to ensure that we maintain a diverse energy mix, we need new coal-fired power stations but only if they can be part of a low-carbon future. With a solution to the problem of coal, we greatly increase our chances of stopping dangerous climate change. Without it we will not succeed."
He added: "CCS is the only technology with the potential to reduce emissions from fossil fuels by up to 90%. But there must be a global effort to develop this technology, and the U.K. is in a strong position to lead this charge. This signals the era of unabated coal is coming to an end, and a new low carbon future for coal with CCS can begin. There is no alternative to CCS if we are serious about fighting climate change and retaining a diverse mix of energy sources for our economy."
Today, coal-generated power accounts for 37%, or 29 GW, of the U.K.'s electricity capacity. However, that is expected to fall by almost one-third to 21 GW in the coming years as the U.K. shuts down older coal-fired plants in accordance with European Union regulations regarding sulphur and nitrogen emissions.
"We welcome further clarity from the Government on developing CCS," said Jeff Chapman, Chief Executive of the Carbon Capture and Storage Association. "The government must ensure that any funding mechanism is sustainable for the long-term development of this urgently important technology -- to create green jobs and invest in a low-carbon economy."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is a marketing information service specializing in industrial process, energy and financial related markets with products and services ranging from industry news, analytics, forecasting, plant and project databases, as well as multimedia services.
The nation's Environment Agency is expected to play a key role in judging when an acceptable CCS standard is met. The government has said limited funding, based mainly on new customer levies, will be available for up to four new coal-powered plants featuring CCS. Energy providers have greeted the news cautiously, asking for more information on the government's plans to fund the extra cost of CCS.
The government will now only consider applications if they:
- Confirm sufficient space available to retrofit CCS
- Identify a suitable potential offshore area to store carbon dioxide
- Map a feasible potential transport route from the power station to the storage area
- Do not have foreseeable barriers to retrofitting CCS
Despite protests over the controversial Kingsnorth plant, a 1,600-megawatt facility that is scheduled to replace the existing 2-gigawatt (GW) plant already in place there, it was believed that E.ON would receive permission to build its "unabated" plant in the coming months. For additional information, see related December 18, 2006, news article - E.ON's $1.96 Billion Supercritical Clean Coal Project in United Kingdom.
However, the new CCS rules have thrown things into disarray and, as a result, E.ON has been somewhat forced to accept the CCS provisions in order to move ahead with its planning application. E.ON has already stated that adding CCS to Kingsnorth could cost up to 1 billion pounds ($1.46 billion).
In response to the government's announcement, E.ON U.K. Chief Executive Dr. Paul Golby said, "This is a vital step by the government that recognises the critical role that CCS will play in decarbonising the U.K. That is why E.ON is committing to fit capture technology to Kingsnorth in accordance with the government's proposed conditions, as long as it is properly funded."
Milliband said: "The future of coal in our energy mix poses the starkest dilemma we face. It is a polluting fuel but is used across the world because it is cheap and it is flexible enough to meet fluctuations in demand for power. In order to ensure that we maintain a diverse energy mix, we need new coal-fired power stations but only if they can be part of a low-carbon future. With a solution to the problem of coal, we greatly increase our chances of stopping dangerous climate change. Without it we will not succeed."
He added: "CCS is the only technology with the potential to reduce emissions from fossil fuels by up to 90%. But there must be a global effort to develop this technology, and the U.K. is in a strong position to lead this charge. This signals the era of unabated coal is coming to an end, and a new low carbon future for coal with CCS can begin. There is no alternative to CCS if we are serious about fighting climate change and retaining a diverse mix of energy sources for our economy."
Today, coal-generated power accounts for 37%, or 29 GW, of the U.K.'s electricity capacity. However, that is expected to fall by almost one-third to 21 GW in the coming years as the U.K. shuts down older coal-fired plants in accordance with European Union regulations regarding sulphur and nitrogen emissions.
"We welcome further clarity from the Government on developing CCS," said Jeff Chapman, Chief Executive of the Carbon Capture and Storage Association. "The government must ensure that any funding mechanism is sustainable for the long-term development of this urgently important technology -- to create green jobs and invest in a low-carbon economy."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is a marketing information service specializing in industrial process, energy and financial related markets with products and services ranging from industry news, analytics, forecasting, plant and project databases, as well as multimedia services.
