‘Incompetent’ Davey misses out on massive grant from Brussels

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey told MPs that reports last month that the UK has missed out on funding from Brussels for carbon capture and storage (CCS) schemes were ‘true’.

Yorkshire is widely seen as one of the best places in the world to trial CCS technology, due to its cluster of heavily-polluting industries lying in close proximity to depleted North Sea gas fields where scientists believe millions of tonnes of CO2 could be stored.

The EU has set aside hundreds of millions of pounds to support the development of CCS around Europe, and had rated a proposed ‘clean coal’ power station at Hatfield, near Doncaster, as the best scheme on the continent.

However, with Hatfield in pole position to win funding from Brussels, the British Government effectively pulled the plug on the whole project last month by refusing to give it their backing.

Instead, Ministers put forward four far less advanced schemes for funding from Brussels – one at Drax, in North Yorkshire, one on Teesside and two in Scotland.

Now Mr Davey has told the Commons Britain has missed out altogether – but that he remains hopeful it could win a second round of the competition in the years to come.

But Mayor of Doncaster, Peter Davies, said the decision has cost taxpayers millions of pounds.

“The Government has once again shown its incompetence,” he said.

“Their failure to shortlist (the Hatfield) project, which was top of the pecking order for the next round of EU funding, left everyone baffled. It has now lost the UK millions.

“I said at the time it was a shocking decision, and this latest news just proves that point.”