CCS seeks to capture a place in sustainable Britain

CCS is the only way we can reduce carbon dioxide emissions and keep fossil fuels in the UK’s electricity supply mix.” – Department of Energy & Climate Change. Whatever your views on fossil fuels, it’s unlikely we’ll be shaking them in the near future. Energy from coal and gas will remain on the grid and in our homes and some of our vehicles for some time, so it stands to reason that new ways of mitigating their significant impacts need to be devised. This is where carbon capture and storage (CCS) comes in. There’s no denying that CCS is expensive – as indicated by the fact there are only 12 full-scale operational projects worldwide – but it’s ultimately likely to be an unavoidable expense. The UK is one of quite a few countries hoping to catch up with North America, which dominates this sector so far.  There are currently ten proposed projects on these shores. But some people feel frustrated at the pace of a move towards widespread CCS. The industry’s body and the TUC got together a couple of weeks ago to push the case for speedier roll-out; namely a £35bn industry and £80-plus energy bill savings for consumers. Another pilot project in Yorkshire claims 2,000 ‘green jobs’ could be created in the county alone. In terms of energy generation, CCS technology is commonly associated with the dirtiest fossil fuel of them all – coal. But as part of the push to prove the efficacy of the technology and so get the UK upwardly mobile in CCS, one of major demonstration projects supported by the government is to capture CO2 from burning gas. The Peterhead project is expected to be operational by 2020 at the latest. In a simple sense, CCS is about returning carbon to where it came from. It requires the CO2 being stopped at source, compressed and pumped through networks of pipes into porous rock where gas previously existed. Capturing and storing gases such as CO2 is a process that is currently completed in isolation. National Gridneatly explains the whole process with a diagram. And it’s not just about what’s on the grid – CCS is also the cited solution to carbon dioxide emissions from heavy industry, such as cement, iron, steel and chemicals, which account for over 70 per cent of industrial CO2. Of course, monetary costs versus long-term savings will always be the points of contest in getting large green infrastructure projects off the ground. But the carbon reduction benefits are obvious. And all data, financial and carbon, needs to be roundly ratified before it is presented to the public. The debate cannot simply be about government and big industry shifting for a position – we have to be sold the benefits without sensationalism, and have a say how this emerging technology can be established economically and sustainably. One thing is for certain: CCS is an abbreviation that won’t be going away for a while. http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/blog/2014/02/20/ccs-seeks-to-capture-a-place-in-sustainable-britain/