Government extends CCS funding options

The UK government is to open up its funding of carbon capture and storage (CCS) demonstration plants to include gas-fired power stations as well as coal-fired ones.

Energy and climate change secretary Chris Huhne said: ’We won’t be able to take the carbon out of all gas plants overnight, but we hope to support the process by investment in new technology now.’

Huhne said that the move would not mean that the government would impose the same emission constraints on gas-fired power plants as on coal in the short or medium term, and encouraged companies to come forward with potential projects.

The government has stated it is committed to funding four commercial-scale CCS projects and recently announced that up to £1bn is to be made available for the first commercial-scale CCS demonstration project.

The move comes as the European Commission announced that it would be funding at least eight CCS projects across the EU as part of a competitive process from projects put forward by Member States.