The UK government’s £1 billion carbon capture and storage (CCS) competition closed for bids yesterday after “significant interest”, according to officials.
The ‘CCS Commercialisation Programme’ was launched in April to support the design, construction and operation of a large-scale CCS demonstration project following the failure of the previous competition to agree terms with the last remaining bid.
Some 16 companies including Centrica, Shell, SSE, Doosan Power Projects and National Grid, initially indicated their intention to bid for the £1 billion prize, but one of the potential entrants Peel Energy last week withdrew from the running after dropping plans for a new coal-fired power station at Hunterston in Ayrshire, Scotland.
But a Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) spokesperson said an initial review of each bid would be carried out over the next few weeks before making any further details available.
“There has been significant interest from industry, with a good range of applications received,” the statement added. “Decisions on which projects to support will be made in the autumn following an assessment and evaluation process.”
As well as the £1 billion in capital funding, the successful scheme will also be eligible for additional support through the government’s new low-carbon Contract for Difference (CfD) process, which will replace existing Renewables Obligations (ROs) under the electricity market reform laid out in the forthcoming Energy Bill.
“The UK has one of the best offers anywhere in the world for CCS and this competition is an important step to reach our aim of a cost competitive CCS industry in the 2020s,” said the DECC spokesperson.
For further information:
www.decc.gov.uk
Related stories:
Ayrshire Power drops plans for coal-fired power station in Scotland (28-Jun)
Companies sign up to UK £1 billion CCS competition (18-May)
UK government launches CCS competition and new roadmap (3-Apr)
E.ON to close Kingsnorth power station and drop CCS plans (9-Mar)
Article source: http://www.energyefficiencynews.com/i/5237/
