European funding victory for £165m power station

PLANS for a £165m power station in Yorkshire, which will capture and store carbon and create thousands of jobs in the region, has taken a major step forward after being recommended for European funding.

Powerfuel, headed by former UK Coal boss Richard Budge, has beaten off competition from rival schemes from E ON at Kingsnorth, RWE at Tilbury and Scottish Power at Longannet for the project at its site in Hatfield, near Doncaster.

The coal-fired power station will use carbon capture and storage technology (CCS), a process of burying climate-warming gases.

The 900 megawatt plant will use CCS technology, which involves liquefying carbon dioxide emissions by burning fossil fuels and then pumping it out to depleted gas fields.

Hatfield’s location is said to be ideal for developing a CCS Cluster because of its proximity to a large number of power stations that are close to depleted gas fields in the North Sea where carbon can be safely stored and within 15 years could cut CO2 emissions by up to 60m tonnes in the region.

It is expected to generate energy for around one million homes.

Yorkshire Forward has been working closely with Powerfuel and the National Grid to develop part of the scheme to build a network of CO2 pipelines linking power stations and major industrial installations across Yorkshire and Humberside.

Five other European sites have been selected for CCS funding, in Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Italy.
 

The funding will come from the European Commission’s energy programme recovery fund, which is allocating €1.05bn to CCS, as well as €1.75bn earmarked for better international energy links.

Tom Riordan, chief executive of regional development agency Yorkshire Forward, welcomed the move and said it “catapults our region on to the global stage as a leader in demonstrating commercial scale CCS”.

Mr Riordan said: “This is great news for the region. There is no better place to do carbon capture and storage than Yorkshire and Humber.

“Securing the first project is a vital step in developing a region wide CCS cluster. We strongly support the initiative Powerfuel has taken and we look forward to working with them in delivering our vision for carbon capture and storage in the region.

“Nowhere in Europe has such a large number of power stations so close to safe carbon storage in depleted gas fields in the North Sea, and the region has access to proven technology and engineering skills. 

“We have the potential of storing up to 10% of the UK’s carbon emissions, creating thousands of jobs and creating an infrastructure that could attract energy intensive industries that want a solution for their carbon emissions.”

Mr Budge said: “We are delighted that our application for the European Economic Recovery Package funding has been successful and would like to express our gratitude to all those who have supported our project since 2002. 

“Initially Doncaster MBC and Yorkshire Forward, who have been very instrumental in identifying the benefits of the Humber cluster and the potential for environmental improvement and to local MP’s, MEP’s and the Government who are seeking to put the policies in place which will accelerate the expansion of the carbon capture storage industry resulting in significant environmental benefits.”

Rosie Winterton MP, Minister for Yorkshire, added: “This is a welcome step in the approval process of a larger package of proposals to aid economic recovery in Europe.

“A carbon capture and storage project at Hatfield will ensure that Yorkshire and The Humber is leading the way in clean coal technology. It will bring huge economic benefits to our region and shows our commitment to cutting carbon emissions and dealing with this global issue.”