Carbon Capture & Storage
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is an exciting proposition to reduce CO 2 emissions by removing the CO 2 produced when hydrocarbon fuels are burned and storing it indefinitely in a suitable geological formation. You will have heard much on the subject, but here are a few essential details.
The vital role to be played by CSS technology in reducing CO2 emissions is increasingly recognised and experts now predict that without CCS there will be little chance of achieving the global reductions in Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions which are deemed necessary to avoid permanent and possibly catastrophic climate change.
It’s still early days for CCS technology, but the developments are being made for its use on a commercial scale and large projects are achieving the necessary funding to start progressing. Initially it will be applied to coal fired power plants, but as the cost of emitting CO 2 increases, other industries are expected to use it. Large multi-national corporations are running the main projects, but there are many smaller organisations becoming involved in the supply chain.
Governments around the world are adopting legislation and regulation to facilitate CCS operations, with changes to international maritime law allowing storage of CO 2 below the sea-bed. The Energy Act 2008 puts in place the framework for a licensing regime for CO 2 storage in UK waters and the European CCS Directive will create framework legislation for all aspects of CCS development in the EU.
On the financial side, as well as funding from industry players, CCS projects will assist parties to meet their obligations under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) and hopefully CCS projects will benefit from inclusion in the Kyoto Protocol project based flexibility mechanisms or whichever schemes may replace them. These measures effectively subsidise GHG emission reduction projects by either: penalising large GHG emitters by ensuring their allowances match their emissions; or, rewarding GHG emission reducing projects with the issue of carbon credits which can be sold to produce revenue for the project. The EU commission has also stated its ‘openness’ to non-public sector CCS projects receiving state aid funding.
|
The EU is committed to up to 12 CCS projects underway by 2015 and has recently emphasised this commitment to the technology with new legislative provisions to ring-fence up to 300 million EUA’s to support these projects. Also at the EU level, the debate continues on proposals to cap CO 2 emissions from power plants which would effectively outlaw new unabated coal fired electricity generation.
We work with this issue on a daily basis, so you can be confident we know what we are talking about. We can advise you on the following associated areas:
- the development of CCS related policy and legislation in the UK, Europe and globally;
- advice on the development of CO 2 transportation infrastructure (transmission systems) and associated access and use of system agreements;
- operation of gas storage facilities;
- trading of gas storage injection rights and storage space;
- the Environmental Impact Assessment and IPPC requirements for capture, transport and storage
- EU ETS and Kyoto flexibility mechanisms;
- funding structures and options for projects and business ventures; and
- state aid considerations.
Catherine Burke, Partner
Head, CCS and Gas Storage
T: 44(0)870 763 1552
E: catherine.burke@martineau-uk.com |
sectors & activities
