Engineering news
The government has been widely criticised for pulling funding to support the development of carbon capture and storage technology.
The last minute decision to pull £1 billion of “commercialisation” funding for Capture Power’s White Rose project in Yorkshire and Shell’s Peterhead project in Aberdeenshire surprised many close to the project at the time. Both of the projects had been the subject of several studies and preparatory work and were expected to become operational in 2016, but were subsequently cancelled.
Publishing a report on the government’s decision today, Angus MacNeil MP, chair of the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee, said: "If we don’t invest in the infrastructure needed for carbon capture and storage technology now, it could be much more expensive to meet our climate change targets in the future. It cannot afford to sit back and simply wait and see if CCS will be deployed when it is needed.”
"The manner in which the government pulled the plug on the CCS commercialisation competition was hugely disappointing. UK companies had been working towards this for years and were only weeks away from final proposals. The first hint one company had about the decision was when they read a news report the night before. This is the latest in a series of snap decisions that have damaged confidence in the government’s energy policy."
The report found that the opportunity to develop carbon capture storage (CCS) infrastructure in the early 2020s is “likely to have been missed”, alongside potential opportunities to generate additional revenues in the North Sea by storing carbon emissions in depleted oil and gas fields. It recommends a new CCS strategy should be developed, including CO2’s transport and storage.
Claire Jakobsson, head of energy and climate change policy at the EEF said: “We are running short of time if we are to have any chance of an industrial CCS programme in the UK. The government needs to come up with a strategy fast.
“For many sectors, such as steel and cement, there are simply no other options available for cutting emissions. No government support for CCS locks many industrial sectors into a carbon intensive future paying increasing amount in carbon taxes and puts them at a competitive disadvantage.”
Speaking on behalf of more than 22,000 members working in energy generation, distribution, transmission, decommissioning and research,
Garry Graham, deputy general secretary of the trade union Prospect, said: “This report reflects the views of many in the industry that the government does not understand the energy challenges facing the UK and the need to provide confidence for companies to invest for the long term.
"The UK should be a world leader in low-carbon energy technology. But government statements are long on rhetoric and short on substance in setting out a strategy that will meet our future energy needs and sustain high-quality jobs.
“The report builds on earlier comments about declining energy margins and energy security from the Confederation of British Industry, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and others,” he added.