Costs take blame as government kills off carbon capture plan

A PIONEERING £1 billion climate change project in Scotland’s biggest power station has been scrapped amid escalating costs, it has been confirmed.

The carbon capture and storage (CCS) scheme at Longannet coal-fired power station, in Fife, was to be the first of its kind in the UK, with the ability to trap harmful greenhouse gas emissions from the plant.

The decision came under fire from environmental groups and First Minister Alex Salmond, who said it was an “enormous lost opportunity”.

Dr Richard Dixon, director of environmental charity WWF Scotland, added: “This news is massively disappointing and threatens Scotland’s – and the rest of the UK’s – ambition to be at the forefront of developing this new technology.

“If technical and economic hurdles can be overcome, CCS has the potential to help reduce emissions at thousands of coal power stations around the world.

“However, almost four years after launching its funding competition, plans for CCS in the UK have descended into farce.

“Four years have effectively been wasted in the battle to tackle climate change.”

UK Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne told MPs yesterday there were “specific problems” with the Longannet scheme over the length of the pipeline required.

A new pipeline would be needed to pump the carbon dioxide emissions from the plant to empty oil and gas reservoirs below the North Sea bed, where they would be stored.

The UK government was making £1 billion available, but it is understood the estimated cost had reached £1.5bn.

Mr Huhne insisted the government was still committed to carbon capture and storage and said the £1bn funding would be available for other projects.

Ministers were expecting “a number of promising bids from both Scotland and England”, he said.

This could see the gas-fired Peterhead power station, far nearer the pivotal North Sea reservoirs, move into prime position.

A CCS scheme earmarked for the north-east facility was ditched four years ago by Scottish and Southern Energy over a lack of Treasury support.

Mr Salmond said the Longannet announcement has “serious implications” for the long-term future of coal production in Scotland, as the renewal and upgrading of the site was to be part and parcel of the CCS investment.

He added: “This is a deeply disappointing announcement by the UK government, and an enormous lost opportunity.”

The CCS Consortium at Longannet, which comprises the site’s operator ScottishPower, the National Grid and Shell, is thought to have seen up to £50 million spent on designs for the groundbreaking technology so far.

ScottishPower’s generation director Hugh Finlay said: “The consortium is immensely proud of the work we have completed in the last four years.

“Our combined efforts have seen this potentially world-changing technology develop from being a concept in a laboratory to a definitive blueprint that could be implemented.

“As a result of the study, we now understand how the CCS process works from power station to storage site.”

Juliet Swann, of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said the news was a “massive step backwards” and cast doubts over plans to use the technology at a proposed plant in Hunterston, North Ayrshire.