Firms join forces for carbon bid

Published on 15/12/2010 16:48

Ayrshire Power has formed a consortium with oil and gas giant Petrofac to bid for €4.5 billion of European funding to develop carbon capture and storage at its planned controversial coal and biomass plan at Hunterston.

The firm is to tie up with the global oil services firm, as well as Renrewshire engineering firm Doosan & Fluor to develop the technology, which would extract carbon emissions from the new plant and store them underground.

But environmental groups have condemned the consortium businesses. Aedn Smith, head of planning and development for RSPB Scotland, said: "Not only would this development destroy a nationally important wildlife site for wading birds and waterfowl, but it would also contribute to massive global environmental damage through a major increase in climate-wrecking greenhouse gases."

Beth Stratford, energy and finance campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland, added: "Ayrshire Power has identified just one potential carbon dioxide storage site; if this proves unviable or insufficient the Scottish consumer or taxpayer may have to bear the extra costs of transport of CO2 to alternative storage locations."