Power industry welcomes Miliband's CCS commitment

Two of the UK's leading energy firms have expressed interest in developing carbon capture and storage (CCS) hubs on the east coast of the UK after the government announced yesterday that it would not allow any new coal-fired power plants to be built without carbon capture capabilities.

Climate change secretary Ed Miliband said that all new coal-fired power stations, such as that proposed for Kingsnorth in Kent, would have to be fitted with CCS technology capable of capturing a quarter of their emissions output from their first day of operation.

He added that any new coal plants would also have to begin fitting technology capable of capturing 100 per cent of their emissions from 2020.

Paul Golby, chief executive of E.ON UK, which is proposing to build the new plant at Kingsnorth, committed to fit CCS technology at the proposed facility as long as the project is "properly funded".

He added that the company wants to establish Kingsnorth as the centre of a " Thames cluster", capable of capturing carbon from other power stations and injecting it under the North Sea.

"We propose that the CO2 from Kingsnorth should be captured and then stored as part of a "Thames cluster" that supports the whole of the South East, the highest energy-using region of the UK," he said.

E.ON began work last month on identifying potential routes to connect Kingsnorth to the proposed pipeline system that would carry captured CO2 to the Hewett gas field in the southern North Sea.

The announcement was also welcomed by Nick Horler, chief executive of ScottishPower, which is working on similar plans to CCS technology for its power station in Longannet as part of a North East injection cluster. He said the commitment to block any coal-fired power stations that do not feature the technology should ensure the UK has a "real advantage" in the emerging market for CCS systems.

His comments were echoed by Dr Neil Bentley, CBI director of business environment, who said that the move should help bolster UK exports. "Developing carbon capture technology is important globally as well as domestically, given that coal use is growing across the world," he said. "Therefore it is right for Britain to be part of the global drive towards cleaner coal."

The move also secured praise from Greenpeace executive director John Sauven, who said that it provided evidence the government was finally willing to stand up to those power companies that have been lobbying for traditional coal-fired power stations to be given the go-ahead.

"At last Ed Miliband is demonstrating welcome signs of climate leadership in the face of resistance from Whitehall officials and cabinet colleagues," he said. "He is the first minister in 12 years to throw down the gauntlet to the energy companies and demand they start taking climate change seriously."

However, some environmentalists offered a dissenting voice, arguing that CCS technology remains largely untested and that the government would not be able to close down new coal plants if they have not successfully managed to capture 100 per cent of their emissions by the 2025 deadline.

Writing on his Guardian blog, environmental writer and campaigner George Monbiot branded Miliband's commitment to CCS as "cynical and meaningless", arguing that it would be "politically impossible" for any government to shut those plants that fail to capture 100 per cent of their carbon emissions.