Pounds 30bn Bid to Bury Carbon Waste in North Sea

EXCLUSIVE: THE full scale of plans for a world-leading Pounds 30bn scheme to capture two-thirds of the region’s CO2 emissions and store them under the North Sea is unveiled today.

Hundreds of jobs would be created by collecting carbon dioxide from power stations and manufacturing plants, liquefying it and piping it into empty gas fields under the North Sea from plants around the Humber estuary to stop the greenhouse gas escaping into the atmosphere.

A partnership led by Yorkshire Forward and involving major energy and industrial companies is bidding for Pounds 1bn from the Government to help set up the scheme, which could reduce the region’s emissions from 90 million tonnes to just 30 million – and significantly reduce the UK’s total emissions.

The first phase could be operational by 2014, although it could take up to 20 years for the full network to be up and running, connecting about 18 sites including power stations, steel and chemical works in a 40-mile area around the Humber which has the highest concentration of carbon emissions in Europe.

Installing the pipe structure would cost about Pounds 2bn, although the entire scheme – including all the infrastructure, pollution control and carbon capture technology – will reach Pounds 30bn. As well as the Government funding, Yorkshire Forward would contribute, energy and industrial partners would invest in carbon capture technology and private sector investors would be sought.

When the scheme – which will dwarf other carbon capture schemes in Canada and California – is complete, the region’s economy could receive a Pounds 1.2bn-a-year boost through trading unwanted carbon credits, although officials stress the need to continue investing in renewable energy.

A study carried out by consultancy Amec and commissioned by the partnership – which includes Corus, Scottish and Southern Energy, Powerfuel Power Ltd, BP, ConocoPhillips, E.ON UK, Shell and Drax Power Ltd – will be published today confirming the scheme is possible, although it recommends further work and research.

Officials at Yorkshire Forward hope to beat off eight other entrants in the Government’s Carbon Capture and Storage demonstrator competition, with up to Pounds 1bn for the winning project to be chosen by next year.

The scheme could offer the Government a major boost in cutting carbon emissions, with MPs due to debate the Climate Change Bill next week which sets targets to cut emissions by 60 per cent by 2050.

Mike Smith, head of sustainable development at Yorkshire Forward, said: “Climate change is real and is affecting businesses and communities all over the world, so it is vital that we develop new approaches to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

He added: “We can’t stop using fossil fuels altogether, but what we can look to do is develop the assets that already exist and new infrastructure to bury carbon dioxide deep under the sea where it can’t escape into the atmosphere.”

If the bid is successful, work could begin late next year, but the scheme may go ahead even if the bid fails.

It would involve emissions from sites including Drax power station, near Selby, which produces 22.8m tonnes of carbon a year, and the plants at nearby Eggborough and Killingholme in North Lincolnshire.

Yorkshire Forward chief executive Tom Riordan will unveil more details at the Yorkshire International Business Convention today.

“If the Government really wants a global lead in this, if they really want to stand up and say to the world ‘we’re doing this’, this is the place to do it,” said Mr Smith.

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