E.ON calls on government to define "carbon capture ready"

Energy giant E.ON has asked the government to define what it means by "carbon capture ready" before it completes the planning permission process for its controversial £1.5bn Kingsnorth power plant.

The planning approval process is expected to be completed later this year but E.ON has asked the government not to grant a decision until it has completed its consultation on the regulations governing carbon capture and storage systems.

A spokesman for the company said that it was committed to ensuring the plant is carbon capture ready so that the technology can be added as soon it is proven to work at the requisite scale. But he added that it will need a clear definition on what the government regards as "carbon capture ready" before it can begin work on the site.

"We have our definition, which basically means that the pipe work is in place to capture the carbon and you have neighbouring land available to install the technology, but we need confirmation that that is OK," he said.

He added that E.ON regards Kingsnorth as a great site for carbon capture, with plenty of space available for the technology to be fitted. However, without clarification on what the government will expect the risk remains that planning permission could be granted only for E.ON to end up facing a raft of unexpected rules and regulations governing how it installs the planned carbon capture technology.

The call represents the second demand this week for greater clarification on the government's carbon capture and storage plans.

Earlier this week, the TUC issued a report claiming that the technology had a major role to play in the development of a low carbon economy, but warned that "ministers' delays to backing the emerging technologies behind clean coal and carbon capture and storage are causing uncertainty and delaying vital investment".