A failure to invest now in carbon capture and storage (CCS) is not only placing ...

A failure to invest now in carbon capture and storage (CCS) is not only placing at risk the jobs of the 10,000 people directly employed in the UK coal mining and coal power industries, but is also jeopardising the chances of the UK becoming a world leader in the emerging low-carbon technology, the TUC has warned. This was the strong message delivered to the UK government as the Clean Coal Task Group (CCTG) - of which the TUC and seven of its affiliated unions are members - published its Roadmap for Coal report.
The report says that without a substantial investment in carbon capture technology and a major reform of the UK’s electricity market, the UK will become heavily dependent on gas-fired power, and will see its competitor nations bounding ahead in the race to develop low-cost, effective CCS technology.
So that the UK can be on course to meet its target of an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, the Committee for Climate Change recently advised Ministers that the UK electricity sector will need to be substantially decarbonised by 2030 so that it can be completely carbon-free 20 years after that.
The UK currently mines more than 18mn t/y of coal, allowing the country’s 19 coal-fired power stations to generate 28% of the nation’s electricity. However, these power stations also make a significant contribution to the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions, says the report. Furthermore the report says that jobs in coal-mining and power generation are hanging in the balance as around five coal power stations are already set to close in the next four years in order to comply with EU emissions standards.
In addition, the Roadmap for Coal warns that unless the UK government gets its energy policy right there is a danger that reforms to the electricity market will simply see the construction of a number of new gas-fired power stations to the detriment of coal. Coal’s future is bound up with the successful development of CCS technology in the UK, but the government has still to make an announcement on the first of the UK’s four carbon capture projects, says the report.
Roadmap for Coal says that in order to secure the jobs, skills and investment in UK coal mining and its associated power stations for the long term, the government must:
Quickly conclude the negotiations over the publicly-funded contract for the UK’s first CCS demonstration project, likely to be based in Scotland.
Speed up the process to open the competition for the next three CCS projects, due to come onstream by 2018.
Ensure that the infrastructure necessary to make carbon capture a reality for clean power stations is synchronised with local heavy industries - such as steelworks, cement and chemical plants - so they can also access carbon capture and storage networks in the UK’s industrial regions.
A copy of Roadmap for Coal can be viewed at http://www.tuc.org.uk/tucfiles/106/CoalRoadmap.doc