Study shows how to cut CO2 emissions

A study by AMEC, for a group of stakeholders led by Yorkshire Forward, shows how Britain can reduce its total CO2 emissions by over 6% by capturing and storing CO2 from sources in Yorkshire and Humber

This would represent the equivalent of taking 14 million cars off the road by 2030.

The Yorkshire and Humber region produces around 90 million tonnes of industrial CO2 emissions a year.

The study, developed by Yorkshire Forward, the Regional Development Agency, and a Steering Group of stakeholders, proposes an infrastructure network that would connect power plants to storage facilities in the depleted gas fields off the adjacent coastline in the South of the North Sea.

The network would link the largest sources in the region and enable other emitters to transport and store their CO2.

Didier Pfleger, Chief Operating Officer of the AMEC Power and Process division, said: "This regional network approach would be a first in the UK and our study shows it can work.

If it goes ahead, the Yorkshire and Humber area can really show how to make material progress in reducing CO2 emissions.

I am delighted that our front-end consultancy and engineering skills have been applied to this important area of work to help business rise to the challenge presented by global warming".

Alastair Rennie, AMEC project director, added: "The report details scenarios under which the network would transport between 24 to 54 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030 rising to about 60 million tonnes by 2040 - a significant proportion of UK emissions".

At today's price, the predicted cost of the infrastructure is GBP2 billion.

Technical and economic issues in the development of transportation and storage infrastructure play a key element in determining investment decisions in CCS projects.

CCS is one approach that is considered by the Stern Review, the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) and the International Energy Agency as essential to provide a lower carbon future.

As such, the study represents a tangible step forward for the viability of Carbon Capture and Storage in the UK.

It places the AMEC high-value consultancy at the forefront of creating practical and economical solutions to ensure that the UK is able to combat climate change.

Notes for further information:.

* The Yorkshire and Humber region produces around 90 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually, the majority from single point industrial or power generation sources.

The region also has a coastline adjacent to the rapidly depleting gas reservoirs of the Southern North Sea.

This unique coincidence of high levels of CO2 emissions and proximity to storage sites means that the development of a low cost CO2 transport network would position the region to be the first and potentially lowest cost user of these depleting gas fields for carbon storage.

* The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) quotes UK CO2 emissions for 2005 as 554.2 million tonnes (mt).

The ETS Phase 2 (2008-2012) EU National Allocation Plan for the UK is 246.7mt/year of CO2.

The widened ETS aims for a 2020 EU reduction target of 21%, compared to 1990, covering 40% of total emissions to meet the EU 20% overall reduction target.

* The process of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) begins when CO2 is produced by an industrial process such as burning coal or natural gas.

The CO2 produced is first separated, then normally compressed into a liquid and transported by pipeline to a suitable storage or sequestration site where the CO2 can be permanently stored.

The transport system encompasses compressors, pumps, an onshore pipeline and an offshore pipeline to deliver the CO2 to the storage site.

* Abated CO2 allows for the energy used in capture, transport and storage and is less than the amount transported.

The ratio of abated to total CO2 transported is dependent on the capture process, generally quoted as ranging from 8% to 40%.

A factor of 25% has been used in this case.

The scenarios suggest abating 1.7 to 15.1mt CO2 by 2020, 18.1 to 40.2mt CO2 by 2030, and 38.4 to 46.3mt by 2040 via this network.

The central scenario points to 35.6mt/year abated CO2 in 2030 respectively.

This amounts to 14.4% of the current National Allocation Plan and 6.4% of all 2005 UK CO2 emissions respectively.

* The Climate Change Group quotes data from the Department for Transport and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (January 2007) as individual cars emitting on average 2.57 tonnes of CO2 per year.

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