Longannet has two reasons to celebrate
Longannet power station in Fife had double the cause for celebration when major investment in carbon capture technology was confirmed on the same day its only rival for the cash dropped out.
- By David Clegg
- Published in the Courier : 21.10.10
- Published online : 21.10.10 @ 07.26am
Chancellor George Osborne said £1bn will go towards building power stations with technology to capture and permanently store carbon emissions.
There had been fears the such projects would become a victim of the coalition government's spending cuts.
The news they had been spared came just hours after energy giant E.ON said it was withdrawing from the procurement process to build the first such facility in the UK-leaving Scottish Power's Longannet bid as the only remaining contender.
Announcing the £1bn investment, Mr Osborne said it was necessary to "ruthlessly prioritise" areas of the economy which would support economic growth, including low-carbon infrastructure.
The department of energy and climate change later confirmed there would be a second round of carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects, with up to four more schemes given the go-ahead. Funding mechanisms have to be decided.
Thomas Docherty, MP for Dunfermline and West Fife, said, "I am pleased that the UK Government have seen sense and decided not to cut the funding from this vitally important initiative that was kick-started by Labour.
"Carbon capture and storage technology has real potential and Fife is well placed to be at the cutting edge of developing this innovative technology. I appreciate that due process must now be followed, but will continue to champion the Longannet project until the spring, when the final decision is taken."
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