Equinor, SSE team up for Scottish CCS power plant
Norwegian oil firm Equinor and UK energy supplier SSE Thermal plan to jointly develop a 900-MW gas-fired power plant in Petershead, Scotland, that will employ carbon capture technology to prevent CO2 emissions, the companies announced on May 11.
The station will capture 1.5mn metric tons/year of CO2, fulfilling 30% of the government's target for annual CO2 capture by 2030. SSE already operates a conventional power station in Petershead, situated south of the St Fergus terminal that brings UK North Sea to shore. The companies said the site was ideal for carbon capture, thanks to CO2 transport and storage infrastructure being developed in the area as part of the Acorn project.
Both Acorn and the new Petershead power plant obtained funding from the UK government's £171mn ($242mn) Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge Fund in March. Clean energy developer Storegga brought on board Shell and UK producer Harbour Energy in April as equal-equity partners in Acorn, which is expected to store up to 5mn mt/yr of CO2 in rock formations 100 km offshore by the end of the decade.
A final investment decision on the power station will depend on the progress of necessary business models and associated infrastructure, the companies said. But with the right policy mechanisms in place, they said it could be up and running by 2026.
"Carbon capture storage technology is one of the most exciting and innovative ways that we're looking to tackle climate change, and today's announcement marks a significant step towards a greener, more sustainable future for Scotland and the whole UK," UK energy minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said in a statement.
UK is striving to become a net-zero economy by 2050, and is keen to showcase its commitment to tackling climate change ahead of the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference that will take place in Glasgow this November. The government announced in April a intermediary target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 78% by 2035. It will also incorporate international aviation and shipping emissions into its reduction plan.
Equinor and SSE are also working together to build another 900-MW plant in the UK's Humber region that would be fitted with carbon capture technology. They want to construct a second hydrogen-fuelled station at the same site.