While new facility emission standards in the Waxman-Markey draft bill would impose a de-facto obligation on newly permitted coal-fired facilities to be capable of installing and ultimately operating carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) equipment, the United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change has proposed legislation that mandates the use of CCS technology on any newly-constructed large-scale coal-fired energy facility.

In a statement to the House of Commons on April 23, 2009, Secretary Ed Miliband explained the proposal:

I propose a requirement to demonstrate CCS on a substantial proportion of any new coal-fired power station. We will propose for consultation a requirement to demonstrate at least 300 MW of net capacity or around 400 MW of gross output as a condition of any consent. The demonstration condition would mean that henceforth unabated coal-fired power stations would not get Government consent. Secondly, alongside that, we must secure not just a commitment to demonstrate, but, when the technology is proven, a commitment that CCS will be fitted on the entire plant.

Miliband’s proposal builds on an existing UK requirement that all new coal-fired units be sited with the capacity to accommodate the addition of retrofitted carbon-capture technology when such technology becomes commercially available (the UK’s Department of Climate Change, as of April 23, 2009, is currently accepting comments through June 22, 2009, on draft guidance for operators seeking to prove their sites will meet the new “carbon-capture-ready” requirement).  The Secretary’s new proposal, however, suggests that some in the UK government now believe the technology is already commercially available-at least for the purpose of a commercial-scale demonstration project at a new facility.

The UK has styled itself as the international leader in developing aggressive policies to promote rapid adoption of clean coal technologies.  It has also established a comprehensive and transparent consultation process to develop new CCS and other climate-related policies.  Therefore, the UK’s progress and experience in implementing its CCS policies, and the ongoing comments and reaction of its many stakeholders, may prove useful references for US stakeholders looking to shape and predict the future of US policy. 

For further information about this topic, please contact Akin Gump.