17 March 2010 - Yorkshire and Humber has been chosen as the UK's first low carbon economic area for carbon capture and storage (CCS).
The region has been chosen because it combines the UK's largest cluster of industrial CO2 emitters, academic expertise and proximity to potential storage sites, according to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). The CCS sector will be able to sustain 100 000 jobs by 2030 and generate up to GBP6.5bn ($9.9bn) a year, the UK government has claimed.
Ed Miliband, secretary of state for DECC, said: "CCS presents a massive 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 Europe for CO2 storage under the North Sea."
The launch of the strategy comes after two power companies were awarded funding last week to develop designs for power plants with CCS technology. E.ON and Scottish Power are competing for government backing to build the UK's first CCS coal fired power plant at either Kingsnorth in Kent or Longannet in Clackmannanshire, Scotland.
The UK has pledged that no new coal fired power stations will get the go-ahead without the technology.
Meanwhile, British-owned steelmaker Sheffield Forgemasters will start commissioning a new nuclear reactor forging press this summer after the UK government agreed to help fund the GBP160m project. The company will receive a government loan of GBP80m to help pay for the 15 000-tonne press and finishing workshop.
Westinghouse, the US nuclear reactor provider, has agreed to advance GBP40m worth of forward orders, while banks and private equity providers will make up the balance.
