CCS could mean big business for UK industry

Earlier this month, long-awaited plans were released to build the UK’s first new coal-fired power station since the 1970s. But unlike its polluting predecessors, if approved, the plant at Hunterston in Ayrshire will integrate carbon-capture and storage (CCS) technology – a process that many believe is absolutely key to solving the world’s carbon-emission problems.

The Ayrshire proposal is the first application made since the UK government enforced rules stating that all new plants must be fitted with CCS, a technology that captures CO2 and buries it deep beneath the ground. The developer behind the proposal, Peel Energy, claims that the facility could provide enough energy to power up to three million homes, while creating up to 1,600 jobs and storing 90 per cent of the carbon dioxide produced.

“In the UK alone, the sector could be worth more than £3bn a year and is estimated to sustain between 70,000 and one million jobs by 2030.”