Areas of the North Sea identified as carbon sink sites
Large parts of the North Sea floor have been identified for offshore carbon storage and 20 sites have received licenses.
The underground sites cover an area of about 12,000 square kilometers, slightly larger than Yorkshire.
Some are in north-east Scotland, others off the coasts of Teesside, Liverpool and Lincolnshire.
The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) says the sites could one day store 10% of the UK’s annual carbon emissions.
The first injection into the underground storage areas could occur as early as this decade.
In addition to the geology, the locations were also selected for their proximity to the existing offshore infrastructure.
However, further permits must be obtained before a carbon capture and storage process can be implemented.
NSTA Chief Stuart Payne said: “This is an exciting and important day. As a nation, we cannot achieve our decarbonization goals without carbon storage.
“This is net zero delivery in action.
“The awards we are offering today could cut around 10% of UK emissions and through our work with applicants we will have concrete work plans such as seismic surveys and well drilling – we are working with the industry to quickly to move forward.” .
“British offshore waters remain the crown jewel of our energy mix, delivering energy security, emissions reduction and carbon storage.
“We look forward to working with these licensees to bring these projects to fruition as soon as possible and open up more carbon storage rounds in the near future – thanks to our teams and industry for their great work, but that’s just the end.” Beginning.” “
Energy Efficiency Lord Callanan said: “To become a world leader in this evolving industry thanks to the government’s unprecedented investment of 20 billion.
“These new licences, together with the new powers granted to the NSTA under the groundbreaking Energy Act, will develop our most comprehensive picture yet of the UK’s potential for carbon capture and storage, strengthening our energy security, reducing emissions whilst creating thousands of skilled UK jobs create.”
https://www.standard.co.uk/business/business-news/areas-of-north-sea-identified-as-carbon-storage-sites-b1082139.html Areas of the North Sea identified as carbon sink sites
