In the light of the 2010 pre-election Budget, which focuses on economic recovery and industrial investment, the government unveiled its multi-million pound Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Industrial Strategy. Chantl du Plooy takes a look at the CCS scheme, exploring the benefits it could hold for Britains future
Massive growth opportunity
It is no secret that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions pollute the atmosphere and contribute significantly to global warming and climate change. Through the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) initiatives, the UK could confine the CO2 produced by sources such as fossil fuel power plants and store it underground.
According to the IPCC special report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage, it has been estimated that CCS applied to a modern conventional power plant could reduce CO2 emissions into the atmosphere by as much as 80-90%.
Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband has therefore identified the CCS sector as an industry of great potential.
CCS presents a massive growth opportunity for the UK. We have a strong, established and skilled workforce in precisely the sectors needed to get CCS deployed at scale. And we have some of the best potential sites in Europe for CO2 storage under the North Sea.
The energy secretary believes that investment into the CCS sector could enhance the UKs economy by 6.5 billion a year and will create sustainable jobs for 100,000 people by 2030.
The governments CCS plan will involve intensive research in order to develop strategies to place the UK at the forefront of ground-breaking carbon dioxide capturing technologies. This will be funded by a 90 million pot set aside in April 2009.
Strategy
In recent weeks the government awarded two power companies, German E.On AG and Iberdrola SAs Scottish Power with undisclosed amounts of money from the CCS strategys funding to study carbon capturing technologies. The funding will pay for 12 months of engineering and refining plans to build power plants with CCS technology.
According to the UK Press Association, the organisation that puts the best plans forward will receive government funding to build the UKs first CCS coal-fired power plant at either Kingsnorth in Kent or Longannet in Scotland. The title holder will run the plant from 2014 for 15 years.
In the meanwhile, Ed Miliband branded Yorkshire and Humber as the UKs first low carbon economic areas for CCS.
Yorkshire and Humber is well placed to see the benefits from the jobs that investment in CCS can bring, other regions will too,” he said.
According to the energy secretary, the region encompasses the UKs largest CO2 producers as well as academic expertise; and it is uniquely positioned near potential storage sites.
As a result, the government has announced that it will invest 6 million into a CCS joint venture between Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE), Vattenfall of Sweden and UK-based Doosan Babcock. Together with three universities, the partnership will create the largest combustion CO2 capture pilot plant in Europe at SSEs Ferrybridge Power Station in Yorkshire.
The 20 million Yorkshire project will be co-funded by the Technology Strategy Board, the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the Northern Way partnership.
Concerns
Although CCS technology is a potential way for the country to reach a low-carbon future, the carbon benefits still need to be established.
The IPPC report also indicated that in order to capture and compress CO2 at a newly built coal-fired plant, more energy will be required and it could increase fuel needs by 25-40%.
However, more recent reports from the American Coal Utilization Council, unveiled that with appropriate research, development and deployment, sequestered coal-based electricity generation in 2025 wont need as much energy.
Another cause for concern is the storing of CO2 in the sea where a risk of increasing ocean acidification could be possible.
Pledge
The Carbon Capture and Storage Industrial Strategy is aimed at researching and identifying any potential risks associated with the technology.
Not only will the endeavour place the UK in the lead with regards to CCS strategies, but it will also boost jobs, stimulate the economy and drive the countrys low-carbon future.
Whats more, the government has pledged that no new coal-fired power stations will be approved without CCS technology, which could suggest that the idea of CO2 capturing is here to stay.
Chantel is a regular contributor of career advice and jobs news for leading UK Job Board http://www.careersandjobsuk.com Link text
