The European Commission awarded 1bln Euros to nineteen private investors, who run green energy programmes. Out of the total amount, 300 mln euros were given to Drax, the operator of one of the main coal burning power plants, for their project to construct a facility with carbon capture and storage technology.
Drax in collaboration with Alstom and BOC will jointly conduct the project called White Rose, which is the first one of this kind in the EU. The aim is to construct a large-scale coal power plant, which will be equipped with carbon capture and storage technology. Up to 90% of the carbon emissions will be trapped and transport via a pipeline to a reservoir under the North Sea. The transport and storage of carbon dioxide from the plant is provided by the UK National Grid.
The new plant should appear right next to the already existing coal power plant in Yorkshire, UK, which is also operated by Drax. Once the new facility is completed, it is expected to provide energy from coal sufficient to power up 630,000 homes in the area.
The project secured its funding only one year after the proposal was submitted. The reason for this is that the European Commission insisted on speeding up the funding process, as the construction of the facility is considered extremely important for combating emissions and climate change. The project is seen not only as a mean to reduce the country’s emissions, but also it will serve as an example to other companies in the industry.
Carbon capture and storage techniques became extremely popular after the latest IPCC report on climate change. Since then, researchers and engineers have been working hard to develop various techniques and come up with solutions to clear up the atmosphere from the dangerous gas. Thankfully, the time has come when we will be able to see whether all this efforts pay off.
Image (c) PA
