• As major Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) pilot project begins in the US, ScottishPower Chief Executive Nick Horler tells conference that UK cannot afford to fall behind in the CCS race
  
  
• ScottishPower takes major strides forward over the last year and on-course for demonstration of commercial scale full chain CCS by 2014

On the same day that a major Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) pilot project started at Mountaineer Power Plant in New Haven, West Virginia, ScottishPower Chief Executive Nick Horler has called on the UK Government to ensure that it does not fall behind in the race to be at the forefront of the new global CCS industry.

As one of the remaining bidders in the UK Government CCS competition, ScottishPower, together with its consortium partners, is on course to demonstrate commercial scale full chain CCS by 2014 at Longannet Power Station in Fife.

Addressing the Industrial Power Association Conference on Clean Coal, Clean Gas and Carbon Capture Storage, Nick Horler highlighted ScottishPower’s progress over the last 12 months and stressed the need for the UK to continue its leadership in CCS.

Mr Horler said: “From a standing start, we at ScottishPower have come very far very quickly in this CCS race and now have a tremendous momentum behind us.

“In the last 12 months, we have secured the backing of environmental groups such as WWF, we have launched one of the world’s first professorships of CCS at Edinburgh University, we have been shown to be in the right place to access the tremendous storage and transportation options available in the Central North Sea, we have been making tremendous progress with the chemical capturing process and we have taken a quantum leap onto the global stage with Shell and National Grid joining our consortium.

“With this momentum behind us we are now ready to demonstrate at commercial scale carbon capture and storage here in the UK at Longannet and be up and running by 2014 and realise the massive economic and environmental potential of this revolutionary technology.

“But remember we’re in an international race and despite other political distractions, we have to remain focussed on our goal, to take advantage of the opportunities of being first to demonstrating this technology at scale.

“We have the right people, we are in the right place - all we need is to do it at the right time. With other countries hot on our heels if not potentially about to overtake us, we can’t fall back into the pack especially at this time of tight international balance sheets and competing investment priorities - we now need to see the UK Government fully committed to the competition by keeping to tight timescales and making funding available.

“We are at the beginning of something big – we know that. We are on the cusp of a carbon revolution, one that brings huge challenges and huge opportunities perhaps in equal measure.

“It’s critical we show we can deliver the solution and demonstrate before others that we here in the UK, can do CCS.”

Notes to Editors:

ScottishPower is one of the leaders in the UK Government’s competition to develop a commercial scale Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project. The company recently switched-on a prototype carbon capture test unit at Longannet power station in Fife - the first time anywhere in the UK that carbon capture technology has been working on a coal fired power station. This will help prove the chemistry of carbon capture and uses the same technology that can be retrofitted by 2014 as part of the UK Government’s CCS competition. The ScottishPower consortium also includes of Aker Clean Carbon, Shell and National Grid.

Media Information: Simon McMillan, 0141 566 4875 / 07753 622 257

Find out more about the ScottishPower CCS Consortium bid at –