The world’s first gas-fired power station with carbon capture and storage has been given the green light, with Costain to deliver the East Coast Cluster projects in Teesside.
Costain is set to deliver and manage the engineering, procurement and construction (EPCm) of the Northern Endurance Partnership’s (NEP) onshore CO2 gathering system on Teesside, and associated utilities for Net Zero Teesside Power (NZT Power).
NZT Power has reached financial close and entry into the execution phase for the project, with construction expected to start from mid-2025, and start 2028.
Costain is one of nine leading engineering, procurement, and construction contractors selected by NZT Power and NEP to deliver the landmark scheme.
It comes as Costain secured a three-year extension to its Contract Management Organisation (CMO) contract with Cadent for its gas distribution network upgrade programme.
The combined value of the NZT Power and NEP investment programme is around £4 billion.
NEP will provide the CO2 transportation and storage infrastructure for three Teesside-based carbon capture projects: NZT Power, H2Teesside and Teesside Hydrogen CO2 Capture.
The confirmation to proceed follows Costain’s successful completion of the front-end engineering design (FEED) for the carbon capture network, and its appointment to deliver the FEED for the East Coast Cluster’s hydrogen network.
Once operational, the combined cycle gas turbine electricity generating station could produce up to 742 megawatts of low-carbon power – equivalent to the average annual electricity requirements of more than one million UK homes.
Up to two million tonnes of CO2 per year will be captured at the plant, and then transported to secure subsea storage sites beneath the North Sea via infrastructure provided by NEP.
It follows the government’s £21.7 billion funding commitment to ensure the UK’s vision for CCUS becomes a reality in the UK.
Sam White, managing director for natural resources at Costain, said: “This announcement is a significant step towards UK decarbonisation.
We’re working with Net Zero Teesside Power and the Northern Endurance Partnership, their partners and the supply chain to deliver a world-class CO2 gathering network, utilising our first-class capabilities in consultancy, engineering and construction.
“In addition to the environmental benefits, these projects will revitalise the local economy, creating jobs, developing skills and improving people’s lives across the Teesside region.”
Ian Hunter, managing director for Net Zero Teesside Power, said: “Today’s announcement is the culmination of years of work to make Net Zero Teesside Power a reality.
“As the project progresses into the execution phase, we look forward to delivering on our ambition to create and support thousands of jobs whilst generating flexible, dispatchable low-carbon power for the UK.”
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