German utility E.ON AG (EOAN.XE) Wednesday said it won't proceed to the next stage of the U.K. government's competition to fund a commercial-scale carbon capture and storage project on a fossil fuel-fired power station, leaving an Iberdrola SA (IBE.MC)-led project as the only one remaining.
German utility E.ON AG (EOAN.XE) Wednesday said it won't proceed to the
next stage of the
U.K.
government's
competition to fund a commercial-scale carbon capture and storage project on a
fossil fuel-fired power station, leaving an Iberdrola SA (IBE.MC)-led project
as the only one remaining.
E.ON said in a statement that the economic conditions were still "not
right" for the company to progress the project and that it was clear that
the project at Kingsnorth in
Kent
couldn't meet the
project timetable.
"Having postponed Kingsnorth last year, it has become clear that the
economic conditions are still not right for us to progress the project and so,
simply put, we have no power station on which to build a CCS
demonstration," E.ON
U.K.
Chief Executive Paul
Golby said.
The move is a blow to the
U.K.
government that is
aiming to become a global leader in CCS with a view to exporting the technology
to countries such as
India
and
China
that are rapidly
expanding their fossil fuel fired power generating capacity to support booming
economies.
The
U.K.
government had said it
wants to support up to four CCS projects, which could also include capturing
emissions from a gas power plant.
"The government is naturally disappointed that E.ON has decided not
proceed," the Department of Energy and Climate Change said in an emailed
statement.
"E.ON's decision has been made in the context of their own investment
plans, and is no reflection on E.ON's commitment to CCS," the DECC
statement said.
E.ON said it will instead focus on its Maasvlakte project in the
Netherlands
where it is working
with Electrabel SA, GDF Suez (GSZ.FR) and the Rotterdam Climate Initiative to
conduct a joint feasibility study for a 250 megawatt carbon capture unit to be
fitted on the new power station currently being built.
The only other contender for government funding is a ScottishPower-led project
at its Longannet coal plant in
Scotland
. ScottishPower, the
U.K.
subsidiary of Iberdrola
SA (IBE.MC), is working with National Grid PLC (NG.LN), Royal Dutch Shell PLC
(RDSB.LN), Aker Clean Carbon and Acccenture PLC (ACN) on the Longannet CCS
scheme.
E.ON had planned to build a carbon capture unit on a new 1,600-megawatt coal
station at Kingsnorth, where their existing coal plant is due to close in 2015
under a European Union environmental directive.
However, last year, the German utility postponed making an investment decision
on the new coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth by three years to 2016,
citing a fall in power demand and prices due to the recession.
Διαβάστε ακόμα
Τρι, 24 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 19:58
Τρι, 24 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 19:54
Τετ, 18 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 18:32
Τετ, 18 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 18:27
Τρι, 17 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 20:01