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its combustion in the UK , but it will clearly help achieve net zero if carbon capture moves on apace .
Cluster projects
Carbon capture technology is advancing but has not yet been done at significant scale . The UK approach has been rather than relying on ( or in addition to ) each emitter sorting its own carbon capture out , focusing on the country ’ s industrial clusters and capturing carbon at the main emitters to be fed into a network of pipelines and deposited under the sea . By focusing on clusters , the greatest carbon capture can be achieved the quickest , getting the industry off the ground for tackling more isolated emitters in due course .
To that end , there was a new announcement on 28 July , that the Acorn ( in Scotland ) and Viking ( on Humberside ) carbon capture cluster projects would be supported as ‘ Track-2 ’, i . e . the second set of clusters to get this recognition . ‘ Track-1 ’ was announced last year and includes HyNet in the north west of England , and a combination of Net Zero Teesside and Humber Low Carbon Pipelines to the east of England , with Acorn as a reserve ( its Track-1 reserve status being confirmed as part of the Track-2 announcement ).
National priority
For these clusters , typically each emitter gets consent for a capture plant adjacent to its site , either via a planning application , or if it is combined with a new facility , a Development Consent Order ( DCO ) for both the facility and capture plant . Separately , a network of CO 2 pipelines is developed by a separate company ,
... the government is pressing ahead with carbon capture projects
and also authorized via a DCO , with the offshore portion and storage facility being authorized by separate consents and usually yet another company . All these developments run at different speeds and are at different stages , so it is very challenging to coordinate each overall project with so many parts , especially against a background of policy and legislative changes . There is a general reluctance to have a ‘ build it and they will come ’ approach to energy infrastructure in the UK , e . g . building the network of pipelines before the emitters ’ carbon capture facilities are up and running , but the urgency of net zero demands that this should change .
For carbon capture to become a large scale contributor to Net Zero in the UK , the following are needed : first , a clear government declaration that it is urgently needed and network elements need not wait for other elements to be ready before going ahead ( even at the risk of the odd stranded asset ), perhaps declaring carbon capture infrastructure as a critical national priority as is being done with offshore wind and associated electricity networks . Secondly , a clear statement of who pays for what , how , and when , whether by licensing or otherwise . Finally , a declaration that existing emitters will need to have their carbon captured by a certain date or face closure would provide the incentive to breathe life into this currently flagging area . ■
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