Government must learn lessons from previous competition, says CBI

Businesses in the UK welcomed DECC’s CCS competition re-launch but claim the Government “must learn lessons” from its original project. The CBI said the new CCS competition must be “simpler” […]

Businesses in the UK welcomed DECC’s CCS competition re-launch but claim the Government “must learn lessons” from its original project.

The CBI said the new CCS competition must be “simpler” and “completed quickly” as the last one “took too long and was eventually abandoned”. It believes the UK could gain from this project and the Government cannot waste this opportunity.

Rhian Kelly, CBI’s Director for Business Environment Policy said: “CCS has the potential to contribute significantly to our energy security, reduce carbon emissions, create jobs and become a major export for the future. If we are to gain any advantage from developing this important technology in the UK, the Government cannot afford to waste this opportunity.”

Scientists at the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) have welcomed the competition too but say we still need to know if the CSS technology costs will be reasonable with other low-carbon options.

Jim Watson, Lead Author of the forthcoming UKERC CCS Report and Director of the Sussex Energy Group said: “CCS technologies are often highlighted as a crucial component of future low-carbon energy systems – both in the UK and internationally. But we still don’t know when these technologies will be technically proven at full scale, and whether their costs will be competitive with other low-carbon options.”

 

Latest Podcast