Scotland blocks UCG plans

Plans for underground coal gasification (UCG) technology have been blocked by the Scottish government. The process was placed under a moratorium in 2015 when the Scottish government reviewed evidence on its safety and environmental impact. Following a report by Professor Campbell Gemmell in early October, the Scottish government has announced that UCG will have no role in Scotland’s energy mix and has asked the UK government to revoke all existing licences in Scotland.

The report claims that the UCG industry has a history of pollution incidents and would make climate change targets harder to meet without a suitable storage method, such as carbon capture. The UK government recently abandoned plans for a $1.2bn carbon capture storage project, expected to go to Peterhead.