The country’s first power plant with carbon capture has raised the finance to start construction.
Net Zero Teesside Power (NZT Power) and the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP) have reached ‘financial close’ and is now set to be world’s first commercial scale gas-fired power station with carbon capture technology.
The power station will generate up to 742 MW of electricity, which is equivalent to the average annual electricity requirements of more than 1 million UK homes.
NEP in which TotalEnergies holds a 10% shareholding interest, will permanently store up to an initial 4 million tonnes of CO2 per year.
The NEP infrastructure will initially serve three carbon capture projects in the Teesside region (NZT Power, H2Teesside and Teesside Hydrogen CO2 Capture).
Infrastructure includes an onshore CO2 gathering network, compression facilities and a pipeline connected to subsea injection facilities 1,000m below the seabed.
Construction is expected to start from mid-2025 with first CO2 storage expected in 2028.
Chris Daykin, Director, Northern Endurance Partnership, said: “This is a landmark moment in the development of CCUS infrastructure and the UK’s ambition to reach net zero emissions by 2050.”
Arnaud Le Foll, Senior Vice President Carbon Neutrality, TotalEnergies, said: “NEP is a frontrunner project and we look forward to transporting and permanently storing CO2 from one of the UK’s largest industrial regions.
Ian Hunter, Managing Director, NZT Power, said: “We look forward to delivering on our ambition to create and support thousands of jobs whilst generating flexible, dispatchable low-carbon power for the UK.”
The investment in CCS is a big part of Labour’s strategy for 2050 with it commiting £21bn to make the UK a leader in this space.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “This investment launches a new era for clean energy in Britain – boosting energy security, backing industries, and supporting thousands of highly skilled jobs in Teesside and the North East.
“This is the Government’s mission to make the UK a clean energy superpower in action- replacing Britain’s energy insecurity with homegrown clean power that rebuilds the strength of our industrial heartlands.”
