Operators with projects in the works have long awaited the UK government's announcement of a regulatory framework to facilitate the growth of carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in the country.
The official business model and contract model that will govern the developing CCS sector in the nation are laid out in the Dispatchable Power Agreement (DPA), which was issued on Tuesday.
The framework specifies specifications for carbon dioxide capture rates and testing requirements, providing operators and investors with a "solid policy framework," according to the Department of Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy.
The DPA extends the standards for CCS projects and is based on the contractual framework of the contracts for differences that were initially implemented to help the renewable energy sector.
According to Climate and Energy Minister Graham Stuart, “Businesses need to know that the UK is the best place for carbon capture investment… we are giving one of our biggest signals to date and showing that the UK’s CCUS [carbon capture, utilisation and storage] industry is open for business,”
The CCUS framework, according to Stuart, will give the market “the clarity required to deploy CCUS at scale” and “move into the next phase” of development.
Prior to Liz Truss' government's collapse and the resignation of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, sources in the sector have expressed concern about the uncertainty in UK politics and its possible effects on CCS.
In order to achieve its goal of establishing two CCS clusters by 2025 and two more by 2030, the UK government has been in the process of selecting a group of projects that would get public funding.
The two hubs that must be constructed by 2025 are the HyNet Cluster in North West England and North Wales and the East Coast Cluster in the Teesside and Humber regions.