New report: Fife power plant 'best option' for carbon capture trial
22 May 2009
Longannet power station is the best option for UK Government trials to capture carbon emissions, according to a new study from WWF Scotland released today (Friday 22 May).
The environmental group warned that other sites being considered would result in vastly higher carbon emissions, equivalent to Scotland's total annual emissions.
The report "Carbon Choices" analysed the three semi-finalists in the Government's Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) competition and concluded that doing the trial at Longannet would be the only choice that actually reduced emissions overall. A trial at a new coal-fired power station at Tilbury in Essex or Kingsnorth in Kent would increase emissions.
Dr Richard Dixon, Director of WWF Scotland said:
“The power sector is responsible for more than a third of Scotland’s CO2 emissions, most of it from burning coal. Lord Turner's Committee on Climate Change has said that the power sector should be almost completely carbon-free by 2030. Along with renewables and energy efficiency carbon capture and storage is likely to be a vital part of delivering low-carbon electricity, both here and abroad. But we need to stop talking and actually get something up and running.
“The difference between choosing Longannet and any of the other sites could be as much as 55 million tonnes of CO2 over the lifetime of the project, more than all of Scotland's emissions for a year. Choosing Longannet as the site for this carbon-capture demonstration project is a no brainer. The UK Government should stop wasting time and give the go ahead for the trial at Longannet."
The WWF report shows that if the technology is tested on a purpose built new coal power station as proposed at Kingsnorth in Kent, or Tilbury in Essex overall emissions from the power sector could increase by 32 million tonnes CO2 between 2014 and 2025 - roughly equivalent to running an extra 4.5 coal-fired power stations for a year.
By comparison, fitting carbon capture to the existing power station at Longannet in Fife would reduce emissions by 14.5 million tonnes of CO2 over the same period - equivalent to turning off 2 coal-fired power stations for a year.
WWF Scotland also called on the Scottish Government to establish an Emissions Performance Standard for power stations like that in California. This standard would set a limit on the carbon emissions from power stations and drive new and existing plants towards cleaner operation.
Editor’s Notes
[1] 'Carbon Choices - options for demonstrating carbon capture and storage in the UK power sector' was based on analysis of the potential impact of the CCS demonstration projects on overall GB power sector CO2 emissions commissioned from IPA Energy + Water Economics
[2] Carbon capture and storage (CCS) could play a bridging role in the transition to a truly low-carbon, sustainable energy system, reducing emissions from burning coal and gas by capturing CO2 and then transporting it to underground storage sites. However, the process has yet to be proven on a commercial scale. The UK Government is holding a competition to fund one demonstration project and announced in April that is would look to fund a further three projects test the different technologies.
[3] In December 2008 the Scottish Government published a draft Climate Change Bill. WWF Scotland is calling on MSPs from all parties to back a strong Climate Change Bill which includes:
* the legal framework to require the reduction of Scotland’s greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% by 2050.
* statutory annual targets for at least 3% cuts in emissions year on year to set us on a steady path of reductions to 2050.
* climate change emissions from international aviation and shipping.
