Is CCS about to make a UK comeback?

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) could be back on the UK agenda shortly, following remarks made by the Minister for Climate Change and Industry Claire Perry at the recent Conservative Party Conference in Manchester. Perry hinted that new plans for the technology could emerge in the coming weeks as part of the government’s long-awaited Clean Growth Plan.

The remarks coincided with publication of a new report from Summit Power, which suggests that development of an ambitious East Coast CCS Network could boost the UK economy by an estimated £160bn between now and 2060. Meanwhile, the Trades Union Council (TUC) has been calling for the government’s other long-awaited initiative, the Industrial Strategy, to support the creation of a CCS project in industry-heavy Teesside, where per capita carbon emissions are over three times the national average.

Progress with CCS in Britain came almost to a standstill when the government abandoned – for cost reasons – its £1bn competition to fund two full-scale demonstration projects in the power generation sector two years ago. The move probably spelt the end for the last two CCS schemes in the competition – Peterhead in Scotland and White Rose in Yorkshire. At the time, the UK CCS Association called the move ‘devastating’ and ‘a real blow to confidence for companies investing in CCS.’

Since then, with UK coal-fired power generation in decline, attention has switched to the possibility of developing CCS projects at gas-fired power stations and heavy industrial sites.

The authors of the new Summit Power report claim it provides the first quantified societal cost benefit analysis of a UK network of CCS investments, suggesting that the benefits of the scheme could outweigh costs by as much as £129bn.

Under the proposed East Coast scheme, dedicated carbon dioxide infrastructure would link clusters of major industry and power generation in Scotland, Teesside, the Humber region, and the South East, to gas transport and offshore storage infrastructure in the UK Continental Shelf. The study shows that investments along the East Coast could be managed in steady and discrete phases to ensure each step is affordable and delivers the expected benefits, says Summit Power.

The study was carried out by Summit Power Caledonia, with industry and academic collaboration from Industria Mundum, Pale Blue Dot, Tees Valley Combined Authority and the University of Strathclyde.

Stephen Kerr, Project Director of Summit’s Caledonia Clean Energy Project which would be part of the East Coast Network, said: ‘This work reframes the understanding of how investing in infrastructure that cleans up industry, air quality, and even your gas boiler, can benefit all of us. The value to UK society is enormous: over £160bn in added value to the economy and jobs numbers equivalent to the UK oil & gas sector. Summit Power’s Caledonia Clean Energy Project is ready to deliver at Grangemouth, at the heart of an East Coast CCS Network.’

Kerr continued: ‘We’ve shown that for every £1 invested in carbon capture, the payback to the UK economy is almost £5. Strong leadership and a clear approach are now required to deliver carbon capture benefits in our economy, our industries and our climate.’

Ben Houchen, Tees Valley Mayor, said: ‘The economic and environmental benefits from carbon capture and storage are significant – and the East Coast CCS Investments Study backs this up. On Teesside, we can make progress on developing the necessary infrastructure with a small level of government support.’