The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has invited applications for a carbon dioxide storage licence in saline aquifers off the Isle of Wight.
Offshore Energy UK (OEUK) said that although most of the UK’s potential storage is located in the North Sea, the English Channel also has potential storage, with a capacity of over 1GT.
OEUK’s policy and sustainability director, Michael Tholen said, “Today’s announcement is an important step for the UK’s carbon capture and storage sector, which now needs to be matched by a clear policy environment to provide certainty to investors. For example, although the announcement of £20 billion of government support for CCS is welcome, industry needs clarity about the specific timelines for the deployment of the funding. Equally, CO2 emitters need a clear route to market in the form of a regular competitive allocation process and a framework to enable non-pipeline transportation of CO2 needs to be developed.”
A total of 27 carbon storage licences have already been awarded. Four industrial scale carbon storage projects are already in development at St Fergus in the North of Scotland (‘Acorn’), Hynet NorthWest on Merseyside, the Northern Endurance Partnership on Teesside and Viking CCS on Humberside. Permits for the first injections of carbon dioxide are expected to be issued later this year.