Friday 18 May 2007

"Coal is the most climate-wrecking of all the fossil fuels, three times worse than gas, and simply burning it at a slightly higher efficiency is not at all acceptable. The UK is aiming for 60% cuts in emissions in the long term; if all that happens at Longannet is that we produce 8 million tonnes of CO2 a year instead of last years' 10 million tonnes we will not have done anything like enough.

"ScottishPower has the opportunity to pioneer a very acceptable form of carbon capture and storage at its two plants. Until renewable energy technologies are fully up to speed, carbon capture and storage may be a very important part of the fight against climate change.

We are already beginning to see proposals for 'capture ready' coal power stations, but in most cases this is a merely a fig leaf, intended to get planning permission with no guarantee that the plant would ever be connected up to any kind of carbon storage. However we know that Scottish Power is looking at this option seriously.

If new plants at Longannet and Cockenzie were to capture carbon from the first day of their operation, this could make them among the most progressive coal projects in the UK."

"The SNP has promised to cut Scotland's CO2 by 3% a year. A 20% improvement in emissions from Longannet would be soaked up in less than 7 years. These proposals have the potential to make a significant reduction in emissions but Mr Salmond must ensure that they go ahead only if carbon is being captured from day one."