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Britain introduced a proposed Emissions Performance Standard (EPS) in December 2010 which would effectively ban construction of new coal plants without carbon capture and storage (CCS), but would not require new gas fired stations to capture CO2 for the time being. The measure was announced as part of a package of energy market reform proposals by the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to promote investment in new power stations that the ministry says will be needed by 2020.
In a consultation document, DECC proposed two options for the EPS. The first would set a level of 600g CO2/kWh at baseload, which DECC says would require a new, supercritical 1,600 MW coal plant to employ CCS on around 300-400 MW of its capacity. The second option would set a level equivalent to 450g CO2/kWh, with an exemption for plants participating in the UK’s CCS Demonstration Program or similar EU programs. For the 450g option, the figure would be 700 MW for a 1600 MW supercritical coal plant. The consultation document also proposes introducing a floor price for carbon of £20, £30 or £40 per tonne of CO2 in 2020. The final decision will be made by the UK Treasury as part of its 2011 Finance Bill legislation. |
