Global electricity producer RWE announced plans to implement carbon capture technology at three of its UK-based facilities as part of its strategy to gradually decarbonize its gas infrastructure.
The three proposed projects are part of the company’s long-term goal to reach carbon neutrality by 2040 and represent a supportive response to the UK’s target of reducing CO2 emissions produced by its power system by 2035.
The decarbonization proposal includes installing carbon capture technology at two of RWE’s gas-fired, combined-cycle gas turbine power plants: Staythorpe, which produces enough energy to satisfy the needs of around 2.8 million homes, and Pembroke, which produces power for about 4 million homes.
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The third proposed location is Stallingborough, which will be home to a new carbon-capture, gas-fired power station. If the three projects are successfully completed, they are expected to collectively secure up to 4.7 gigawatts (GW) of generation capacity, which in turn will be able to produce enough electricity to power the equivalent of 8.1 million UK homes.
These projects would have a significant net-zero impact, as they are expected to capture 11 million tonnes of carbon per year, which the company has stated has the approximate effect of removing 2.2 million petrol-powered cars from the road.
The next step in the development agenda for the projects is applying for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s funding program dedicated to clusters of carbon capture and storage facilities.
The three proposed projects correspond to already sketched-out CO2 networks, and in an effort to secure transportation and storage capacities, RWE has built a reliable partnering network with the South Wales Industrial Cluster (SWIC) and Viking CCS.
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