Pioneering study shows how to cut CO2 emissions
09 June 2008
London, United Kingdom, (9 June 2008) - A study led by Yorkshire Forward for a group of stakeholders and undertaken by AMEC, the international engineering and project management company, shows how Britain can reduce its total CO2 emissions by over 6% by capturing and storing CO2 from sources in Yorkshire and Humber. This would represent the equivalent of taking 14 million cars off the road by 2030.
The Yorkshire and Humber region produces around 90 million tonnes of industrial CO2 emissions a year. The study, developed by Yorkshire Forward, the Regional Development Agency, and a Steering Group of stakeholders, proposes an infrastructure network that would connect power plants to storage facilities in the depleted gas fields off the adjacent coastline in the South of the North Sea. The network would link the largest sources in the region and enable other emitters to transport and store their CO2.
Didier Pfleger, Chief Operating Officer of AMEC's Power and Process division, said: "This regional network approach would be a first in the UK and our study shows it can work. If it goes ahead, the Yorkshire and Humber area can really show how to make material progress in reducing CO2 emissions. I am delighted that our front-end consultancy and engineering skills have been applied to this important area of work to help business rise to the challenge presented by global warming."
Alastair Rennie, AMEC's project director, added: "The report details scenarios under which the network would transport between 24 to 54 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030 rising to about 60 million tonnes by 2040 - a significant proportion of the UK emissions."
At today's price, the predicted cost of the infrastructure is £2 billion. Technical and economic issues in the development of transportation and storage infrastructure play a key element in determining investment decisions in CCS projects. CCS is one approach that is considered by the Stern Review, the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) and the International Energy Agency as essential to provide a lower carbon future.
As such, the study represents a tangible step forward for the viability of Carbon Capture and Storage in the UK. It places AMEC's high-value consultancy at the forefront of creating practical and economical solutions to ensure that the UK is able to combat climate change.