Response to the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee inquiry on Carbon Capture and Storage

Abstract:

• Carbon capture and storage (CCS) can be a critical CO2 reduction technology for the UK. CCS is now commencing the early pre-commercial demonstration stages worldwide, with the objective of widespread commercial deployment by 2020 - 2025.
• Capture ready design is a very important set of practical actions during the design and building of new power plant, which can be utilised at a later date, to enable the avoidance of locked-in high carbon emissions in future.
• BERR has already given Section 36 planning consent to Natural Gas Combined Cycle (NGCC) power plants including a condition that they are capture ready, but without a clear definition of this condition.
• The Kingsnorth plant is currently awaiting a decision on capture ready requirements for coal-fired power plants in the UK. This has become a focus for objectors.
• A wideand encompassing specification of capture ready is needed, to ensure feasible conversion to CCS, when it is required by regulation and/or economically justified.
• It is very unlikely that a CCS plant will operate in the UK until additional costs are covered by appropriate financial support.
• Many estimates exist of the support needed to avoid losses on demonstration plant, typically stated to be a total of 70-100 per ton CO2. Several approaches are suggested here to regulate or incentivise CCS.

Publication Year:

2008

Publisher:

UKERC

DOI:

No DOI minted

Author(s):

Haszeldine, S., Chalmers, H., Gibbins, J., Markusson, N. and Skea, J.