Firm still optimistic of building £3bn ‘clean power’ plant

2CO Energy said it is “optimistic” of finding the private funding required to build the long-proposed CCS power station at Hatfield Colliery, near Doncaster, and that “given a fair wind” the plant could be up and running before the end of the decade.

The scheme had seemed doomed to failure last year after the Government abruptly removed it from its £1bn funding competition for carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects without explanation, provoking fury in Doncaster.

The project had already won £160m from the EU and been picked out by officials in Brussels as the best proposed CCS scheme in Europe.

Speaking before the Commons energy committee yesterday, Jane Paxman, a 2CO director, said the firm is still hopeful of attracting the billions of pounds required to get the scheme off the ground, even without the £1bn grant from the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC).

“We’re making a go of it on our own,” she said. “We have to find ways of progressing without access to the (DECC) capital grant.

“We are of course fortunate that we have access to the (EU grant), and that helps us through the stage where there are many tens of millions of pounds needing to be spent prior to the final investment decision. That’s been of enormous benefit to us.”

Ms Paxman said the viability of the Hatfield scheme is now dependant upon DECC agreeing a suitable level of annual subsidy for the project. DECC has announced future subsidy levels for other types of green energy schemes, such as offshore wind, but not yet for carbon capture.