The UK takes a giant step towards managing carbon dioxide greenhouse gas emissions from its energy-intensive industrial heartlands.
Today, 4th October, the Government announced support for multiple projects operating carbon capture and storage on two “Track-1” clusters of industrial activity. HyNet NW, Merseyside, and the East Coast Cluster (ECC), Humber and Teesside, are the first wave of projects to decarbonise UK industry and re-invigorate investment in the world's first low carbon industrial regions.
Support of up to £22bn is promised over 25 years to underwrite low carbon projects against losses. Profits will trigger repayment of the capital investment using well established ‘contract-for-difference’ (CfD) mechanisms that minimise the subsidy from taxpayers.
SCCS welcomes this commitment by the UK government to future-proof essential industries such as cement, chemicals, and glass, that safeguard existing jobs and generate thousands of new highly skilled jobs. This is a giant step towards achieving net zero by 2050. A second wave of low carbon industrial projects will anchor the Track-2 Acorn and Viking clusters in Scotland and Humber, providing an expanded supply chain for business to invest in long term development and support for these new low carbon industries
Track 2 projects such as Acorn in Scotland were not specifically supported financially today. Although the plan is for these to follow on to development swiftly behind today's Track 1 announcement, which will provide confidence to supply chains and investors.
Title image: Humber Bridge (credit: Wikicommons)
