Improving air quality focus of UK energy bill

The latest energy bill announced in the Queen's Speech yesterday (November 18th) has placed emphasis on the introduction of carbon capture storage (CCS) at power stations around the UK.

Under the latest plans, funding will be made available to energy companies to support the development of up to four demonstration CCS projects around the country.

Money to support the government's £9.5 billion incentive scheme is likely to be generated through increases in consumer energy bills.

New coal-fired power plants will now only be able to be constructed under the condition that they can reduce their carbon emissions through the use of CCS technology.

However, the legislation only requires them to capture and store 25 per cent of their carbon output, considerably less than the amount they generate.

Earlier this month, Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) announced its intention to apply for planning permission to build the largest CCS technology trial in Britain.

Posted by Claire Manning