Last month a report was released by The Energy Technologies Institute (ETI), which highlighted the importance of implementing a decarbonisation strategy in order to achieve the UK's 2050 energy targets.
Report
The report said that such energy targets would be met using the combination of bio energy and carbon capture and storage (BECCS). It has been proven that BECCS can deliver negative carbon emissions while producing energy in the form of electricity, heat, gas and liquid fuels.
The ETI have claimed that the deployment of BECCS can actually be achieved by 2030 as all major components have been demonstrated individually. As and when it is implemented, it’s predicted that the ETI projects will result in a gas reduction of 55 million metric tons of CO2 each year by 2050, which is the equivalent to half of the UK emissions set target. Additionally, it will meet approximately 10 percent of the UK's future energy demand, as well as cut costs to achieve set 2050 targets.
Action
The ETI have argued that their decarbonisation strategy will need significant support over the next 5-10 years in order to demonstrate the success of combining bio energy with BECCS. The Government’s already in place carbon capture strategy (CCS) should incorporate BECCS technology as this will further their efforts to meeting 2050 energy targets.
“There are no show-stopping technical barriers to BECCS. The individual technologies, sectors and value chains have been substantially de-risked over the last 10 years so the next steps are to demonstrate all the components together in combination at a UK plant. This will prove the technology, feedstock supply and logistics, and overall commercial viability. For this to happen, U.K. Government support for BECCS is vital as the final decision on its implementation will be a political and financial one, not a technical one.” - Geraldine Newton-Cross, ETI Strategy Manager.
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