Yorkshire and Humber Named First Low Carbon Economic Area for Carbon Capture and Storage by OCCS

Industrial growth, energy security and action on climate change are the three prizes to be had in backing Carbon Capture and Storage technology, Ed Miliband said.

The Energy and Climate Change Secretary said: “CCS presents a massive industrial growth opportunity for the UK. We have a strong, established and skilled workforce in precisely the sectors needed to get CCS deployed at scale. And we have some of the best potential sites in all of Europe for CO2 storage under the North Sea.

“Coal is the most abundant worldwide energy resource but it is also the most polluting, so there is no solution to climate change without CCS.

“Yorkshire and Humber is well placed to see the benefits from the jobs that investment in CCS can bring, other regions will too.

“For the UK economy as a whole these benefits could be worth up to £6.5 billion a year, sustaining jobs for up to 100,000 people, by 2030.”

Rosie Winterton, Minister for Yorkshire and The Humber, said: "Today is an extremely important day for the economy of Yorkshire and The Humber. Our region has been designated the UK's first Low Carbon Economic Area for Carbon Capture and Storage - technologies with the potential to cut CO2 emissions from fossil-fuel power generation as well as from our energy intensive industries.

"In addition, the Government's £80 million investment in Sheffield Forgemasters will enable it to supply the civil nuclear power industry and other markets and to compete globally in this lucrative sector.

"Both these announcements position Yorkshire and The Humber as a world leader in the development and production of the type of energy needed in a low carbon economy and will mean more jobs and further investment in our region."

The CCS Industrial Strategy sets out how the UK can make the most from its knowledge and skills in engineering, geology and the subsea sector and become a centre for CCS innovation and business.

As part of the strategy, Yorkshire and Humber was named as the first low carbon economic area for Carbon Capture and Storage. The region’s Ferrybridge power station, owned by SSE, was awarded £6.3 on March 17 million towards its £21 million 5MW carbon capture trial by DECC, the Technology Strategy Board and Northern Way.

According to the Office of Carbon Capture and Storage (OCCS) other regions like Teesside, Merseyside and Thames Valley could also become centres for this technology.

The UK is at the forefront in the global development of CCS technology. The Government has an Energy Bill before Parliament to provide funding for four commercial-scale CCS demonstration projects and last week announced funding for the Front End Engineering and Design studies as part of a competition to build one of the world’s first commercial scale carbon capture and storage demonstration plants.

A new Office of CCS started work on March 17 inside DECC, and will facilitate the delivery of CCS in the UK and help to promote its rapid take up globally.

The UK Government marked the first year of New Industry, New Jobs - a strategy to put Britain at the cutting edge of new industrial development, especially in the infrastructure and skills they need to meet future challenges and take advantage of new opportunities.