Energy giant announces three new CCS plants in the UK

An energy giant has announced plans to create three new Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) sites in the UK. 

Electricity generator RWE is exploring the feasibility of retrofitting its existing power stations at Pembroke in Wales and Staythorpe in Nottinghamshire.   

It is also planning a new carbon capture, gas fired power station at Stallingborough, close to the Humber Estuary, in North East Lincolnshire. If constructed, its capacity would be up to 800 MW, enough to power one million homes. 

Engineering companies Technip Energies and Bechtel have been appointed to the Stallingborough scheme, reported Business Live. GE Gas Power will support Technip in developing pre-front-end engineering and design (pre-FEED) studies. 

It comes after the UK recently awarded its first round of carbon dioxide storage licences – and shortly after chancellor Jeremy Hunt pledged £20 billion for CCS in his Spring Budget.    

Twelves firms, including Centrica owned Spirit Energy, have been granted 20 permits to store carbon dioxide in depleted oil and gas fields off the British coast.  

The UK Government aims for around 30 million tonnes (9% of current emissions) to be stashed every year by 2030. And it hopes to decarbonise the UK’s power sector by 2035. However, there are currently no active CCS sites in the UK.  

However, in December last year, SSE Thermal and petroleum refining firm, Equinor, won approval to build Keadby 3 in North Lincolnshire – the UK’s first carbon capture power plant, with a total investment of around £2.2 billion. 

If RWE’s three projects are approved, they would collectively be capable of securing up to 4.7 GW of flexible, decarbonised generation capacity – enough to power 8.1 million homes. 

They would also be capable of capturing 11 million tonnes of CO2 per year – equal to taking 2.2 million petrol cars off the road. 

RWE has explored transportation and storage options with South Wales Industrial Cluster (SWIC) and Viking CCS.   

It will apply to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s Track 2 Phase 2 cluster sequencing for funding. 

“I am pleased to announce our plans for three UK carbon capture projects, representing an important step in our progression towards decarbonising our existing gas fleet,” said Tom Glover, UK country chairman for RWE. 

RWE operates the largest fleet of gas fired power stations in the UK. It hopes to be carbon neutral by 2040. 

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