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Peel Energy's Scottish Coal-Power Plant Faces Global Opposition
2010-08-12 23:00:01.3 GMT
By Catherine Airlie
Aug. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Peel Holdings Plc's plans for a
coal-fed power station built with carbon-dioxide capture and
storage technology in Scotland faces global opposition,
according to the environmental group WWF.
Almost 10,000 people from Bangladesh to Bulgaria have
signed a petition against the coal plant planned for Hunterston
in Ayrshire, according to an e-mailed statement from WWF today.
Peel Holdings' Ayrshire Power Ltd. is awaiting approval
from the Scottish government before building the 3 billion
pound ($4.7 billion) plant, which could be operating by 2017.
Environment groups are challenging the government's masterplan
to build a power plant at the site.
"This polluting plant is now being opposed locally,
nationally and internationally and will face a very rough ride
through the planning process," Richard Dixon, director of WWF
Scotland said in the statement.
Ayrshire Power Ltd.'s proposed 1,600-megawatt plant would
eventually be able to trap 90 percent of its carbon-dioxide
emissions for underground burial, according to information on
Peel Holdings' website. The station would also be capable of
burning biomass such as wood rather than coal.
"This is a project of international significance, and it
is important that members of the public have the opportunity to
express their views, and we are pleased that they are doing
so," Mike Claydon, project manager, Ayrshire Power said in
response to e-mailed questions from Bloomberg. The project would
demonstrate large-scale use of carbon-capture technology, which
could then be "rolled out across the world" he said.
'No Confidence'
Peel Holdings owns Clyde Port, a coal port in Ayrshire
that would be used to ship fuel from around the world to the
power station. The Hunterston power station is Peel's first coal
plant project.
"People have no confidence in this company protecting the
environment or responding to local concerns," Tim Cowen, a
local resident and founder of a local opposition group, said in
a telephone interview from Glasgow yesterday.
Peel hasn't explained how and where it would transport and
store the carbon-dioxide, he said. "The company refused all
offers to discuss the project in a public forum," he said.
Coal-fed power stations spew about twice the amount of
carbon-dioxide as natural gas-fueled plants. Carbon capture
technology has yet to be proven on a commercial scale and
first needs to be tested. This would involved siphoning off a
portion of CO2 and piping it underground for permanent storage
to prevent the greenhouse gas from entering the atmosphere.
Emissions Target
The U.K. has a target of cutting CO2 emissions 34 percent
by 2022 from 1990 levels. About a third of Britain's power
station are due to shut over the next decade because of
environmental legislation and as they reach the end of their
useful lives. The nation needs to invest about 200 billion
pounds in energy infrastructure to meet energy demand and curb
emissions.
"We urge the Scottish government to consider the views of
people not only in this country, but also from abroad, whose
lives could be seriously affected by the damaging effects of
climate change," Dixon said.
E.ON AG has proposed a coal-fed power station next to
its existing plant at Kingsnorth in Kent, southeast England. The
energy company is awaiting U.K. government approval of its
plans and said it postponed deciding for three years until the
economy improves. E.ON is in the running with Iberdrola's
Scottish Power to receive U.K. government funding for its carbon
capture plans.
For Related News and Information:
Peel Holdings stories PEEL LN <EQUITY> CN <GO>
Today's top power news PTOP <GO>
Sustainability, environmental indexes SEI <GO>
--Editors: Mike Anderson, Raj Rajendran.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Catherine Airlie in London at +44-20-7073-3308 or
cairlie@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
