Memorandum submitted by the TUC Clean
Coal Task Group
1. The Clean Coal Task Group (CCTG) welcome
this inquiry because the group is concerned by the slow progress
towards building clean coal power plant in the UK with the consequential
risks to security-of-supplies and costs of electricity that will
arise due to over-dependence on gas.
2. The Clean Coal Task Group is a joint
industry and trades union initiative focussed on:
— developing a framework for the successful
deployment of clean coal;
— security of supplies and energy costs
(and their consequences for fuel poverty and costs to industry)
as well as emissions; and
— employment opportunities in power
generation, mining and equipment supply.
Following the creation of the Coal Forum, we
have continued to meet and provide input and advice to the TUC,
the Coal Forum and, where appropriate, to other interested groups
and bodies.
3. The CCTG recently published a Position
Paper on "Clean Coal in the UK and Europe", see Appendix.[35]
4. The points which we would like to emphasise
in the context of the inquiry are:
4.1 CLEAN COAL/CCS
IN A
DIVERSE GENERATION
MIX
The Coal Forum considered three scenarios for
new coal power plants to replace the 11 GW of coal and oil power
plants which are to close by 2016 (see "Overview of the Work
of the UK Coal Forum, November 2006 to June 2007"—http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file41186.pdf.
These scenarios envisage Low (5GW), Medium (10GW) and High (15GW)
amounts of clean coal plant being built by 2015, with the balance
of the generation gap being filled by new gas plants. A typical
power plant with two 800MW units would produce around 12,000 GWh
of electricity a year. If all of the plants are fitted with CCS
by 2025, CO2 emissions from UK power plant would be reduced by
40 % by then, or sooner with the right regulatory and financial
framework.
The consequence of the Low coal scenario is
an increase in dependence on gas for electricity generation to
around 52% (58% if no new coal is built).
To maintain the present proportion of coal in
the UK power generation mix would require the "Medium Coal
Scenario", ie 10GW of new clean coal operational by 2016.
This would require 2GW of projects (at least one new or replacement
power station) to start each year (2008 to 2012) to be ready for
2016. It is not feasible for plants to be built faster due to
the capacity of the industry in Europe.
In order to meet the emerging energy gap, construction
of these plants (and in parallel around 10 GW of gas CCGTs) needs
to start quickly and faster than CCS can be implemented on them
all. Many must therefore be built "capture-ready", as
is now being stipulated in Section 36 consents for gas fired power
plants.
The present proportion of coal in the electricity
generation mix can only be maintained if power companies start
to build new clean coal power plants now.
CCTG believe the government should decide which
clean coal scenario (Low, Medium or High) would meet its objective
for the Coal Forum and security of supplies, and issue a preliminary
version of the National Planning Statement covering coal fired
generation and CCS facilities.
4.2 CCS DEMONSTRATION
CCTG supports the EU's plans for 10-12 CCS demonstration
projects in Europe by 2015 and a similar number in the rest of
the world if CCS is to be commercialised and rolled out on the
scale necessary from 2020. These demonstrations should cover coal
and gas, a range of capture technologies and a range of storage
locations. Because of the UK's location and well understood offshore
geology, several of these projects should involve CO2 storage
in depleted gas fields on the UK Continental Shelf.
CCTG believes the government should include
in its revision of the Carbon Abatement strategy a vision for
the progress and roll out of CCS first to 10-12 demonstrations
and then to full commercialisation by 2020 on the scale necessary
to meet its global CO2 reduction targets.
The government, alongside its very welcome (and
successful) development of regulation for CCS, should accelerate
its efforts to find ways to incentivise more CCS projects—both
post combustion and precombustion—for coal and gas. Initially,
for the first tranche of CCS projects, the government should commit
to recycling a large proportion of the anticipated revenues from
auction of CO2 allowances to provide a guarantee of the carbon
allowance price by a contract for differences.
4.3 CCS—EXAMPLES
TO THE
REST OF
THE WORLD
British companies have a strong track record
in China and India. Originally they supplied sub-critical power
plants to China (direct supply contracts) but since 2002 have
also licensed Chinese companies with supercritical technology.
The UK is therefore in an excellent position to encourage the
adoption of advanced supercritical, capture-ready and CCS technologies
in these and other emerging markets. Alstom, Doosan Babcock and
Shell are participating in the Defra/BERR Near Zero Emissions
coal power plant for China project (NZEC). Shell is licensing
gasification technology to China for coal to liquids plants.
It is extremely important that the Government—in
parallel with its other actions on energy—sets an example
of specifying capture-ready best available technology for coal-fired
power plant (as well as gas). It should demonstrate a commitment
to clean coal and thereby set an example to China, India and others
including Indonesia, Taiwan, Libya, South Africa, etc, that will
otherwise continue to build new plants with CO2 emissions potentially
"locked-in".
In this context the TUC CCTG are concerned by
the delays to the proposed E.ON Kingsnorth project. We believe
that building capture-ready clean coal now in parallel with urgent
actions demonstrating a range of carbon capture and storage technologies
is the most valuable immediate contribution the UK can make towards
cutting CO2 emissions from fossil fuels globally.
2 June 2008
35 Not printed. Back
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