SSE Thermal is pleased to confirm that its carbon capture projects at Keadby and Peterhead have both been deemed eligible for evaluation as part of Phase 2 of the UK Government’s Cluster Sequencing Process.
The proposed carbon capture projects – which are being jointly developed by SSE Thermal and Equinor – were submitted into the process as key emitter projects for the East Coast and Scottish Clusters respectively.
Following a period of review, BEIS has determined that both are eligible and will each be evaluated as potential Phase 2 deployment projects. Individual emitter projects selected in Phase 2 of the Cluster Sequencing Process will have the first opportunity to be considered to receive the necessary government support, with a decision expected from May 2022.
The first phase of the process saw the UK Government announce the two ‘Track 1’ clusters which will be supported to develop carbon capture and storage (CCS) infrastructure. The East Coast Cluster, which takes in the Humber and Teesside regions, was named in ‘Track 1’, with the Scottish Cluster named as a reserve cluster.
Keadby 3 Carbon Capture Power Station would plug into the shared CO2 pipelines being developed through the East Coast Cluster, with its emissions safely stored under the Southern North Sea. Peterhead Carbon Capture Power Station, on the Aberdeenshire Coast, would decarbonise Scotland’s only major thermal generation site, with the captured emissions transported and stored using pipelines being developed by the Acorn Project.
In total, the two low-carbon power stations at Keadby and Peterhead would capture up to three million tonnes of CO2 a year – at least 10 per cent of the UK Government’s 2030 target - while providing low-carbon, flexible power to back-up renewable generation.
Multiple power CCS projects, like those at Keadby and Peterhead, will be needed to support the delivery of a net zero power system by 2035, providing the flexibility needed to back up significant renewable generation. The Cluster Sequencing Process provides an opportunity to kick-start these investments.
Other projects deemed eligible include Equinor’s H2H Saltend, which would link with our planned Keadby Hydrogen Power Station and Aldbrough Hydrogen Storage projects, and Project Cavendish, of which we are a member.