Development consent has been granted for a £1.5bn carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) project on Teesside
Net Zero Teesside Power (NZT Power) and Net Zero North Sea Storage (NZNS Storage) have gained development consent for their Teesside carbon capture project.
Both companies are led by supermajor oil and gas company BP.
The project, which includes a “full chain” CCUS facility, will also have:
- A carbon dioxide (CO2) gathering network
- CO2 pipeline connections to industrial facilities in Teesside
- An abated 850GW combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) electricity generating station
- A CO2 gathering and boosting station to receive captured CO2
- The onshore section of a CO2 transport pipeline for offshoring captured CO2 to a geological storage site in the North Sea
The application was submitted on 19 July 2021.
The Teesside carbon capture project can allegedly capture up to a billion tonnes of CO2
According to a Net Zero Teesside spokesperson, the Teesside carbon capture project would capture up to 2M.t of CO2 a year, which will be transported to subsea storage sites in the North Sea.
Using the nearby Endurance saline aquifer and other stores, the spokesperson said that the potential storage capacity could reach 1bn.t. Endurance alone can store up to 450m tonnes of CO2.
The Net Zero Teesside spokesperson continued: “Over the coming weeks Net Zero Teesside Power and the Northern Endurance Partnership aim to announce the selection of preferred bidders who, subject to FID by September 2024, would be awarded the engineering, procurement (EPC) contracts.”
The latest of the nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPS)
Evidence was collected from the public, statutory consultees and interested parties, with recommendations made to the secretary of state for energy security and net zero on 10 February 2023.
Planning Inspectorate chief executive Paul Morrison said: “The Planning Inspectorate has now examined more than 100 nationally significant infrastructure projects since the Planning Act 2008 process was introduced, ensuring local communities have had the opportunity of being involved in the examination of projects that may affect them.
“Local people, the local authority and other interested parties were able to participate in this examination.
“The Examining Authority listened and gave full consideration to all local views and the evidence gathered during the Examination before making its recommendation to the secretary of state.”
