The Engineer

Report says Moray Firth rocks could aid emissions reduction

News

A consortium of Scottish government, industry and researchers has reported that rocks deep beneath the Moray Firth are capable of storing decades of CO2 output from Scotland’s power stations.

Its research calculates that rock, known as the Captain Sandstone and buried more than half a mile beneath the Moray Firth, could store at least 15 years, and potentially a century’s worth, of CO2 output from Scotland’s power industry.

Prof Eric Mackay from the Scottish Carbon Capture and Storage (SCCS) group said: ’The Captain Sandstone is just one of many rock formations filled with salt water in the central and northern North Sea. We have shown that this is a feasible site that could store massive amounts of CO2, helping the UK meet its targets for carbon emissions reduction.’

The SCCS research, funded by Scottish government and a group of businesses in the energy sector, also showed that carbon capture and storage could create 13,000 jobs in Scotland by 2020 and another 14,000 elsewhere in the UK. Properly developed, the UK’s share of worldwide carbon-capture and storage business could be worth more than £10bn a year by around 2025.

Prof Mackay added: ’Our research indicates CO2 output captured from a fossil fuel-fired power station, like the existing plant at Longannet or Peterhead or any future capture projects such as at Hunterston, could be stored beneath the North Sea.’

Click here for a copy of the SCCS report, ’Progressing Scotland’s CO2 storage opportunities’.

A key technology in the fight against climate change, carbon capture and storage also offers big opportunities for British industry. Click here to read more.