The European Commission is poised to reject funding applications from the UK and other European Union states to capture emissions from coal and gas-fired power stations. The only project still under consideration is at a plant due to close down, Utility Week has learnt.
The Commission has put off a decision that was expected this week on submissions from member states, including four from the UK, for a share of funds earmarked for carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects. A source close to the Commission told Utility Week the only project still in the running was at Florange steel works in France, which is scheduled for closure.
Jeff Chapman, chief executive of the CCS Association, said he understood the Commission did not consider that Decc had provided enough assurances on co-funding. Decc said it had met the Commission’s requests.
Failure to secure funding would be a “massive disappointment” but “not a disaster”, said Chapman. The funding – from selling 300 million emissions permits under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme – was “nice to have but not essential” for progress in the UK’s carbon capture programme, Chapman added.
This article first appeared in Utility Week’s print edition of 16th November 2012.
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