Scotland can lead the world in new carbon capture technologies

Published on Wednesday 2 December 2009 20:31

THE countdown to a global treaty on climate change in Copenhagen is on – and so, too, is the race to harness the economic potential of carbon capture and storage (CCS).

Scotland is uniquely placed to be at the forefront of developing this new technology, thanks to the cavernous space under the North Sea that once stored oil resources. With challenges facing its financial sector, seizing the opportunity to create a new world-leading storage industry in Scotland would be a "once in a generation" achievement.

Success is within reach, but it will require bold and decisive action and a visionary partnership between government and private industry.

Storing is recognised around the world as one of the most effective ways to cut the emissions of greenhouse gases from coal-fired power plants, and the race to find the new global leaders in this new industry has already begun.

President Obama has declared that he wants CCS technology ready for use in US coal-fired stations within a decade. In Norway, finance minister Kristin Halvorsen recently announced that his government plans to raise almost 400 million – a record investment – to spend next year on CCS technology.

The emerging markets will rely on innovation in the West to show the way forward. China, for example, which built an average of one new coal-fired power station every four days in 2006, will become a major CCS customer in future.

The UK is off to a good start with the launch of a CCS competition, which offers potentially hundreds of millions of pounds to support demonstration projects that can capture 90 per cent of the carbon from a commercial scale coal-fired plant.

In Scotland, the publication of an Edinburgh University-led study has demonstrated Scotland's capacity to store not just its own emissions but also those of the UK and other parts of Europe. First Minister Alex Salmond has spoken of creating 10,000 jobs in the Scottish CCS industry.

But how can Scotland take a decisive lead in the race?

The answer, just as in Copenhagen, is in achieving substantial, meaningful and purposeful collaboration.

Accenture's view is that those who understand the nature of the new collaboration and the interests and needs of each party can lead the way.

Scotland is rightly ambitious about a green future and has set its sights on an 80 per cent cut in emissions by 2050. CCS is a significant challenge and no one organisation can produce the technology and harness the space under the North Sea by itself.

For this reason, it is critical that there be collaboration between leading energy businesses and between these private-sector businesses and government, north and south of the Border.

The CCS industry is still in an emerging phase. Full implementation requires a significant amount of public funding, which the European Union and UK government is starting to provide.

Persuasive regulatory and financial incentives will be needed to help minimise the investment risks and encourage the major investment required.

The consortia of partner companies, which plan to work together to deploy CCS, will need to play to each partner's strengths and build on existing capabilities and assets.

New frameworks and operating regimes will need to be developed to ensure costs and risks are managed appropriately and transparently.

Winning the race requires private sector companies to trust and challenge each other and their public sector partners, and vice versa.

With so much at stake, all need to act in one unified direction. All will need to deal with lack of certainty around the long-term value of and confidentiality issues from sharing commercially sensitive intellectual property and strategy.

Finally, the general public also has a role to play. Thousands of people are expected to march against climate change through Glasgow on Saturday. Public support for the new CCS industry in Scotland will play a key part ensuring that appropriate significant investment can be made in Scotland, and that this "once in a generation" opportunity does not slip through our fingers.

&#149 Adrian Clamp is resource industries partner at Accenture UK