SSE and Shell to jointly develop Peterhead CCS gas project
Cleantech news - by GreenWise staff
9th November 2011
In a sign that UK carbon capture and storage (CCS) is getting back on track, SSE announced today it would be jointly developing a demonstration project at its Peterhead gas-fired power station with Shell.
Subject to funding, the agreement will see the two partners develop the first full-scale UK
CCS gas facility capable of
capturing CO2 from
SSE’s
Peterhead Power Station in Aberdeenshire, and then transporting and storing it in Shell's
Goldeneye offshore geological facility in the North Sea.
Last month, the Government pulled the plug on a £1 billion CCS project at Longannet in Scotland, but Peterhead is one of six UK CCS demonstration projects still vying for funding from the European Investment Bank (EIB). It could also potentially benefit from part or all of £1 billion of UK public money that was due to be spent at Longannet, once the Government decides on how take forward its own CCS programme.
"For more than six years, we’ve thought that Peterhead represents the best site in the UK for a gas CCS project," Paul Smith, managing director, Generation, of SSE, said. "Our co-operation with Shell strengthens this proposition even further. Given the work already undertaken, the project can proceed at a pace at least equal to other CCS projects in Europe."
The Peterhead project aims to design and develop a full chain, post-combustion CCS facility that will be capable of capturing CO2 from one 385 megawatt combined cycle gas turbine unit.
Under the deal, SSE will manage the capturing of carbon at the plant, including initial compression and dehydration, while Shell will handle onshore and offshore transportation and storing of CO2 at its Goldeneye gas field in the North Sea. As well as being the only UK gas CCS project, experts say one of advantages of the Peterhead project is its close proximity to an offshore storage facility.
"Shell’s Goldeneye reservoir offers excellent geological storage conditions in terms of pressure, capacity and availability, and we are set on finding a way to use it as a CO2 sink," Glen Cayley, vice president of Technical at Shell UK, said.
Funding
SSE said it would begin work with Shell on pre 'front-end engineering design’ (FEED) studies, with plans for a full FEED study in the second half of 2012. However, this second phase of the project will only be able to proceed "subject to progress" in the EIB funding competition and developments in the UK’s CCS demonstration programme, SSE said. Up to three projects can be supported per EU member state under the EIB’s New Entrant Reserve scheme.
"If long-term targets for reducing emissions are to be met, CCS
technology must be applied as widely as possible," Ian Marchant, chief executive of SSE, said. "However, the development of a commercial-scale CCS demonstration project presents significant challenges and will require appropriate levels of support from both the EU and UK Government."
The Government says, despite Longannet, it is still committed to supporting four CCS demonstration projects in UK and recently stated it would launch "an accelerated selection process" by the end of the year.
The other remaining five CCS projects are at Drax power station in North Yorkshire; Killingholme in Yorkshire (C.Gen); Stainforth in Yorkshire (Don Valley, formerly Hatfield); Ayrshire in Scotland (Peel Energy); and Teeside, North East England (Progressive Energy).
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