Carbon plant axe '˜risks climate deal'

Frustrated MPs have rounded on the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) for their decision to scrap a £1bn fund to introduce carbon capture storage technology at the Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire.

The global significance of scrapping the White Rose project near Selby is a worrying development according to politicians who are keen to see carbon capture storage (CCS) back on the agenda and have demanded the Government takes urgent action.

A damning report by the House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee warns that Britain’s part in securing the worldwide agreement to limit the rise in global warming to two degrees celcius could come to nothing if it can’t reach its own legally binding targets.

Angus MacNeil MP, Energy and Climate Change Committee Chair: “If we don’t invest in the infrastructure needed for carbon capture and storage technology now, it could be much more expensive to meet our climate change targets in the future.

“If the Government is committed to the climate change pledges made in Paris, it cannot afford to sit back and simply wait and see if CCS will be deployed when it is needed. Getting the infrastructure in place takes time and the Government needs to ensure that we can start fitting gas fired power stations with carbon capture and storage technology in the 2020s.”

The White Rose Carbon Capture and Storage Project would have created a carbon storage facility at the coal-fired power station which would have reduced its carbon dioxide emissions by 90%.

Scientists and energy experts were bidding in a competition to win a £1bn fund from the Government to pay for the initial build of the technology and there were hopes for an entire cluster of Yorkshire and Humber carbon capture facilities.

It could have created 100 permanent jobs and 2000 during the construction phase but the Government withdrew funding in the Autumn.

Following an investigation into the withdrawal of the £1bn funding, the Energy and Climate Change Committee is demanding Energy Secretary Amber Rudd devises a new strategy for carbon capture as their decision to pull the plug has allegedly ‘damaged’ relations with investors.

DECC Spokesperson: “We haven’t closed the door to CCS technology in the UK, but as part of our ongoing work to get Britain’s finances back on track, we have had to take difficult decisions to control Government spending.

“CCS should come down in cost and we are considering the role that it could play in the long-term decarbonisation of the UK.

“We are committed to meeting our climate change targets in a way that is affordable and provides secure energy to our families and businesses.”