Coal-fired Power Stations

David Hamilton Excerpts

Wednesday 29th June 2011 Westminster Hall

[Mr Spencer]

I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. That point is fundamental to the debate: coal is recognised as being flexible, but we need to embrace the technology of carbon capture and storage. That is something that I want to explore in more detail later. It is interesting that my hon. Friend touches on carbon capture and storage, because those are new clean technologies that have been proven to work. Powerfuel’s new development at Hatfield, Yorkshire, is backed by Friends of the Earth. It is a good example of how new clean coal plant can be developed and can work in practice.

I turn to the environmental side of the argument. Despite legally binding targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in 2008 91.5% of UK energy supply was met by the use of carbon-intensive fossil fuels. We need to address that figure seriously if we are to, first, meet our energy demands and, secondly, reduce this nation’s carbon footprint.

EDF Energy has said that, between now and 2016, 13 GW of coal and oil baseload plant will close. Other ageing coal plants may also close by 2016 and 7.5 GW worth of nuclear closures are scheduled by 2015. EDF Energy reached its figure of a 32 GW shortfall by factoring in the expected closures, the expected growth in demand for electricity and the expected growth in line with the renewables obligation. That figure of a 32 GW shortfall will be a terrifying one unless we find ways of plugging the gap that do not necessarily involve laying cables across the channel so that we become dependent on our near neighbours.

If the UK coal-fired power stations were replaced over time with clean coal plants, the UK would stand at the head of an energy revolution, we would be secure in our energy supply and we would also be comfortably within the environmental emissions targets. I hope that the Government can find a way to support investment in clean coal technology so that we can achieve some of those goals.

Carbon dioxide capture and storage—CCS—is the critical enabling technology that would reduce CO₂ emissions significantly while also allowing coal to meet the world’s pressing energy needs. It is important to recognise that this is a global issue. While we are considering UK energy generation, it would be foolish not to observe what is happening on the rest of planet Earth. I have already mentioned China and the number of power plants that it is producing. If we can find, develop and enhance CCS technology, we could position ourselves well in the world.

[Mr David Hamilton (Midlothian) (Lab)]

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on raising this very important issue. Given the timetable before us—the site contract is to be signed by Scottish Power by 2011, but we will not see any real production until later—is he as concerned as I am that there will be a gap in the energy market and we will not be able to fulfil the energy requirements of this country? How will we overcome that problem if we do not move the energy agenda forward?

[Mr Spencer]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that intervention and that is exactly the point—there is this gap and we must find a way to fill it. A Government of whatever colour have to address this issue quickly and grab it with both hands, because we cannot afford to be in a position where that gap increases and we cannot keep the power on. I therefore commit myself to supporting him in lobbying Government to ensure that we fill that gap. I hope that the Minister will reassure us at some point that we can fill it.

CCS is a means of mitigating the contribution of fossil fuel emissions to global warming. The process is based on capturing CO₂ from large point sources, for example power stations, and storing it in such a way that it does not enter the atmosphere. CCS can also be used to describe the “scrubbing” of CO₂ from ambient air as a geo-engineering technique. Although CO₂ has been injected into geological formations for various purposes, the long-term storage of CO₂ is a relatively new concept. The first commercial example of its use was at Weyburn in 2000.

I want to explore the three groups into which CCS can be split: post-combustion; pre-combustion; and oxyfuel.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Spencer]

It is true that we need to take a balanced view and ensure that we explore the new technologies. I think that tidal and wave power are great, and if they work they will contribute a small amount to this nation’s energy security. The important thing to note though is that it will be a small amount, because those technologies do not have a large enough share of the market. The number of areas where we could secure a tidal scheme—the Severn estuary is one example—is small, and there are no opportunities to generate enormous amounts of electricity via such schemes. I acknowledge that we need a mixed portfolio, but that works only if there is something there to pick up the base load. The crux of my argument is that the only methods that can be used to pick up the base load are nuclear power and coal-fired power stations, and we are not in a position to build nuclear power stations fast enough to plug the inevitable gap.

On the merits of clean coal technology for the environment, the biggest long-term problem for coal is its carbon dioxide level. Approximately 90% of the CO₂ produced by a coal-fired power station could be captured with CCS, and CCS could help to make up to 20% of the global cuts in emissions that are needed by 2050. Therefore, if we can find the technology that will work, we can sell it to the world, continue to use coal and at the same time cut the amount of CO₂ being released into the atmosphere.

Owing to their substantial carbon emissions, coal-fired power stations are currently considered environmentally unacceptable. That is simply because we are looking at the technology of the 1960s and 1970s, rather than at what is available now and might be available in future. Coal-fired power gets a bit of a poor press, but some of what is said about it is not true.

The UK has the opportunity to be at the forefront of developing clean coal technology. That would not only be beneficial to the UK, but be a very effective way of helping developing countries, notably China and India, to take advantage of their own coal reserves in a way that is considered environmentally acceptable. We find ourselves in a situation in which the Department for International Development is funding the World Bank, which in turn is funding electricity generation in other parts of the world, and those countries are spending that cash on coal-fired power stations, which are not as environmentally friendly as they could be. If we can find a way to make the technology work and embrace it, we could sell it to other parts of the world or donate it as part of our aid programme to the more challenged parts of the world, which would benefit the planet and those more challenged countries as well.

It is vital that we are at the forefront of development. That could lead to a whole new industry. Selling the technology and building it for the world would generate enormous amounts of cash and jobs for the UK. If we are not at the forefront of its development, other countries will jump ahead of us and we will lose the opportunity. This great nation of ours has always been at the cutting edge of technology, and certainly of engineering, and we need to maintain that tradition if we possibly can.

The process of coal gasification can capture 90% of CO₂ emissions for storage and can also produce a synthetic gas, known as “syngas”, which is 99.5% pure hydrogen. The beauty of that fuel is that, once fired through a conventional gas turbine, the only emission is water vapour. Although cleaning up the existing plants is welcome, it will not have the impact that those who want to reduce our CO₂ emissions significantly require, nor will it capture any CO₂ for alternative income generation. Coal gasification is the only process that changes one form of energy—coal—into another flexible energy source—hydrogen—but without a clear Government energy policy, IGCC technology will not happen. To be viable, the new IGCC plants require the same allocation of CO₂ allowances as existing coal plants, but at present they receive the allowances for a CCGT-fired—combined cycle gas turbine—power station.

So far, generating electricity from coal has failed the environmental test because of its carbon emissions, but clean coal offers a number of strategic advantages, including the ability to ensure sustainable and competitively priced electricity and to offset security issues and the cost of importing from volatile countries in the middle east and Russia, which is key. In the past, when I challenged Ministers who said that they were more than comfortable with our arrangements with overseas suppliers, they pointed me to the fact that we have imported a vast amount of our food over the past 50 years and we have certainly never been too concerned about that. The arrangement has worked very well, but it is important to recognise that that has been during a period in which food production has been on an enormous scale and food has been plentiful. The situation may change the second we reach a position where we are short of food.

Russia decided last year not to export a single grain of wheat. That had an enormous impact on global wheat prices overnight. I can see us in a situation in which a very similar thing happens to energy. We all remember images on the news of French lamb farmers blockading their ports and stopping imports of British lamb. Such images stick with me. Can we really depend on our neighbours when we are up against the wall? Will they look after their own taxpayers and can they look after British taxpayers at the same time? That makes me very nervous. Such situations make me think that we should ensure that we are on a secure footing and that we have enough energy in the UK to supply ourselves.

[Mr David Hamilton]

The hon. Gentleman does not need to turn to food for an example, because only a few years ago the Russians turned the gas off to the country next to them, and prices spiked right after. If that happened over a long time and more countries did it, it would really harm our energy requirements.

[Mr Spencer]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that intervention because he makes a pertinent point. The other areas with which we are dealing, for example those in the middle east, are not as politically stable as they could be. We can easily foresee circumstances in which our ability to source energy from those parts of the world is compromised by political upheavals similar to those happening now. That could leave us exposed. I hope that we can find a way of securing our energy. We must meet rising electricity demand and smooth the less predictable output from renewables. We need to foster and promote a high-growth, low-carbon economy.

I shall now address the point raised by the hon. Member for Blackley and Broughton (Graham Stringer) on wind power and explain why I feel that wind power is not adequate to support our needs. Fitting clean coal technology to the UK’s 16 power plants would cost an estimated £6 billion. In comparison, 2,000 wind turbines will be put up in the UK over the next six years at a cost of £9 billion. The Government’s renewable energy policy is currently over-dependent on wind energy. That imbalance is largely the result of the renewables obligation, which provides no clear boundary as regards the merits of various renewable technologies, so the cheapest option in terms of start-up costs—wind power—has been pursued, irrespective of its failures on grounds of unreliability and secure energy.

The dangers of over-relying on wind power were demonstrated in Ireland on 4 December 2003, when the electricity regulator had to take emergency measures to reduce the amount of wind power on the Irish electric grid following major concerns about the security and stability of the power system. Simply because the wind blew too hard, too much power was being generated, so pretty quick action had to be taken to resolve it.

In contrast, Demark has the most intense concentration of wind generation in Europe. At peak output, Danish wind farms can account for nearly 64% of Danish peak power demand. That rarely occurs, but it does happen on occasion. Last year, Danish carbon emissions rose, because the Danish grid fell back on older fossil fuel generation to plug the gap left by underperforming wind farms. Danish power stations used 50% more coal than in 2005 to cover wind’s failings and wind turbines generated 21.7% of electricity, which is down from 29.4% in 2005. To put it in simple terms, when the wind does not blow, the turbines do not move and the power is not there. As the Danes have to have a stopgap base load, they use coal. Ironically, during that period the use of fossil fuels rose, which demonstrates the frustrations with the system that we are pursuing.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr David Hamilton (Midlothian) (Lab)]

I did not intend to speak in the debate, because I did not think I would be here, but another meeting was cancelled. I have nothing much in the way of technical details to add to the 40-odd minute speech by the hon. Member for Sherwood (Mr Spencer), so I will not try.

Many people would assume that I naturally support coal because I am an ex-miner, but there is much more to it than that. I was in the pits for 20 years, although there is not a single pit left in Scotland. We now deal with open-cast mining in Scotland, and there are still one or two pits in England and southern Wales.

If we drive the market through carbon capture, that will give deep mining in the UK long-term security. We do not want to talk about carbon capture and then import all the coal that feeds the power stations. There is therefore an issue about creating employment opportunities in the UK and beginning to develop a strategy for developing our coalfields, which have millions of tonnes of coal. We are fortunate that we have more coal reserves than anywhere else in Europe. That is an important issue, which we must address.

My view is quite specific. Four or five years ago, I changed my opinion about something that had been close to my heart all my life. Until then, I had been anti-nuclear all my life, but I began to realise that this country’s security of supply is far more important than any view that I might or might not have about nuclear energy. When it comes to this country’s energy requirements, everything should be on the table. That is an important issue, which we have to address. This is not a matter of one thing or the other.

I accept the point about wind power and all the problems with it, and I agree with many of the points made by the hon. Gentleman and my hon. Friend the Member for Blackley and Broughton (Graham Stringer). However, we need a big mixture, although the base load must come from a few sources. We cannot rely on Russia for fuel, and we should not rely on the middle east, because the supplies can be stopped at any time. Every week in Parliament, we debate the middle east, and things there could blow up at any time; our energy supplies could be cut off at any time, which would mean another price spike.

China is the engine house of the world. Although it was going through a difficult time, it is coming back. That means that we will have to compete with it when it starts to make gains in terms of power. When it buys the power, we will have to pay astronomical prices, because it will determine what is pulled in. It is building power stations and opening up collieries because that provides quick and easy access to energy supplies.

If we are not careful, our leading position on carbon capture and development will be quickly lost, and we will be overtaken. America is putting a lot of money into carbon capture development, and China is doing the same. Indeed, it already has a project that is supported by Germany and others. We are at the tail end.

I was part of the previous Government, and I know the Minister is supportive of coal. The issue, however, is the timing as we move forward on carbon capture projects. The contract at Longannet has to be signed by the end of the year, but the project will not take off until some years later. We also need to get the other three projects up and running. If we want to be at the forefront, we must be able to develop our strategy quickly. I make a plea to the Minister to sign the contracts by September and to bring the other three projects online as soon as possible for the sake of everyone in this country.

We can have all the arguments we want about clean coal technology, sulphur content and everything else, but if the lights go out, not a single person out there will thank us; indeed, my constituents will drum my door down. The bottom line is that we are here to protect and support the people we represent, and we are here to support industry and this country. The only way we will do that is by ensuring that our energy policy utilises everything we have. This is, therefore, an important debate, and I hope that the Minister takes it on board.

Before I sit down, I have one other thing to ask the Minister. When he has his discussions with the Scottish Government, will he ensure that they invest the same amount as us in the Longannet complex? If that fateful day ever happens and Scotland goes independent—I hope it never does—I would not like this country to be putting money into Longannet, when the Scottish Government are not putting a penny in. I would therefore like to hear what the Minister has to say about the Scottish Government putting money into that important project.

[Jackie Doyle-Price (Thurrock) (Con)]

rose—

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[The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Charles Hendry)]

It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship this afternoon, Mr Howarth. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood (Mr Spencer) on securing the debate and on the manner in which he introduced it. If there were any doubt about it, he has proved today that he is a very fine heir to the seat of Sherwood. The bipartisanship, expertise and understanding that he has shown on the coal industry and wider energy issues are certainly traits that Paddy Tipping and Andy Stewart had. I very much welcome the debate that he has instigated. It would also perhaps be appropriate to put on the record that the hon. Member for Ogmore (Huw Irranca-Davies) would normally reply to such a debate for the Opposition. He is understandably not here today because of family circumstances and our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family at a very difficult time.

As I say, we have had an important and useful debate. There should be no doubt that we recognise that coal has been and will continue to be an integral part of our energy infrastructure. As my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood reminded us, coal makes up on average 35% of our electricity generation, but on a cold winter’s day that figure could readily be 50%. It is therefore vital to our energy security. As we have heard during the debate, coal is also the most carbon intensive form of electricity generation, producing around twice as much CO₂ per unit of output compared with a gas-fired power station, together with other environmental pollutants. He put the issue in an international context and outlined the role that coal is likely to play internationally over many years to come.

The imperative of tackling climate change means that we will need to decarbonise our electricity system. In the future, our energy supply will have to be diverse, adaptable and clean. The technologies that can help to deliver that are: nuclear, which should be built without public subsidy; renewable, including biomass, to which I shall return; and fossil fuels with the use of carbon capture and storage. I absolutely agree with the hon. Member for Midlothian (Mr Hamilton) that this should not be a debate about one technology versus another. We need to secure a tremendous amount of investment in our energy infrastructure, and we should be encouraging that to come from a wide balance of resources. I hope that we can agree that our energy security is enhanced by the breadth of that investment portfolio.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood mentioned, there is certainly a case for having back-up at times when the wind is not blowing, but that would not necessarily have to be coal; it could be gas. At the moment, the investment case would be much stronger for a new gas power plant than for coal with CCS because of the relative costs. That back-up supply could also be provided through interconnectors. For example, an interconnector to Norway could provide a huge amount of potential clean electricity and there could also be additional interconnectors to France or Iceland. They could be part of that process. During this decade, other storage technologies have been developed, such as battery, the use of hydrogen, compressed air or heating hot water. Those are all ways in which one can enhance the reliability of the renewables sector. Nevertheless, we recognise—and the structure we are looking to put in place recognises—that there will also need to be back-up power plant available.

We should also recognise the continuing role for gas in the mix, which has often been missed out in many of these debates. We have increased the expectation of the likely role that gas will play, which picks up the point made by the hon. Member for Blackley and Broughton (Graham Stringer). The world outlook on gas has changed beyond recognition in the past few years and it is right that energy policy should evolve to take account of that reality. When he noted that I was shaking my head, I was not disagreeing with him about the fact that there is an energy crunch, but about the time scale. My expectation is that the problem will not arise in four or five years, but towards the end of the decade.

A lot of new investment is coming through in gas plant. I opened a new Staythorpe 2 GW plant recently in the east midlands and there is also a new 2 GW plant coming onstream shortly in Pembrokeshire. A lot of new investment is coming through in gas; indeed, of the 20-plus GW of consented plant, 60% is gas. A great deal of new plant is coming through, but when we consider that we will lose a third of our coal plant by 2016—it may be more by the end of the decade—and much of our nuclear plant during this decade, there is a real urgency to secure new investment. During this decade, we are talking about an investment figure in excess of £100 billion in terms of electricity generation and the associated infrastructure.

The hon. Member for Liverpool, Wavertree (Luciana Berger) said that we had been drifting in terms of some targets, but I believe it is hard to see that drift. She talks about drifting on the CCS time scale, but in fact, we will secure that first project much quicker than was anticipated under the previous Administration. She talked about us drifting on the renewable obligation review; in fact, we have brought that forward by a full year from the time scale we inherited precisely to give clarity to investors. Where there was ambition before, we have decided to match that with a delivery programme, and put in place a road map for the development of carbon capture and storage, a dedicated Office of Carbon Capture and Storage and a developers forum to identify the barriers to investment, so that we can directly focus on those. I hope that we are putting in place a clear programme whereby we are saying, “We understand what the challenges are. How do we make dealing with those a reality?”

As I said, coal generation remains an important part of our energy mix. UK coal production to date is much stronger this year than last, with surface mine output up 400,000 tonnes and deep mine output up by almost a million tonnes. Consequently, this year, there has been a significant drop in the volume of imports, which I think we would all be pleased about. That is partly a result of destocking and partly because of a steady output from Daw Mill colliery—I was pleased that my hon. Friend the Member for Nuneaton (Mr Jones) was here to pay tribute to that. We very much welcome the development plans that UK Coal has announced for Thorseby and the extension of its life that that might bring about.

Total production in 2010 was up on 2009 at a little over 18 million tonnes, and total coal use was also up. The net effect of contributions from indigenous production and the use of stocked coal was to reduce UK coal imports from 38 million tonnes to 26.5 million tonnes, which is a significant fall of 30%. The generating sector continues to be the main market for coal from all sources, particularly from indigenous production. Some 80% of the coal we consume is used in electricity generation. I want hon. Members from all parties to be in no doubt whatsoever that I, and the Government, believe that there is an important continuing role for coal, including indigenous coal, in the energy mix. We need to put in place the right structure to secure the investment that will bring that forward. Indeed, we also need the right approach to carbon capture and storage.

We know that a third of our coal plant is closing as a result of the large combustion plant directive and that the industrial emissions directive will result in the closure of additional plant. If we reduce the sulphur oxide and nitrogen oxide emissions, it will improve air quality and bring environmental benefits.

I question my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood when he calls flue gas desulphurisation a simple technology. I have been to Drax to see it. The technology may, indeed, be simple from a chemical and engineering point of view, but it is vast. It covers many acres and costs many hundreds of millions of pounds. The companies that are looking at such technology have to think carefully about the long-term viability of their plant before they decide to go through that process.

It is clear that the market structure as it currently stands will not enable enough new investment to come through in these low-carbon technologies. That is why, during the past year, we have started the process of electricity market reform. Although the old market structure brought benefits to consumers—we had some of the cheapest electricity and gas prices in Europe, although it did not always feel like that—it did not attract important investment in low-carbon technology.

The key elements that make up the electricity market reform process are, first, long-term contracts for low-carbon generation through a feed-in tariff—a contract for difference—linked with a capacity mechanism. That could be used to provide for the additional plant that is needed on stand-by for those cold days when the wind does not blow, for half-time during a world cup football match or whenever additional capacity is required. Alternatively, we could find better ways of spreading the demand more evenly across the day and using that additional plant more sensibly.

The electricity market reform process will also look at the emissions performance standard, which the hon. Member for Liverpool, Wavertree raised. We will set out our plans on that in the forthcoming White Paper. We have listened carefully to the industry. I agree with her that if we set the EPS at the right level, it could be a strong steer towards new investment. Such an approach will make this country more attractive to investors because they will know what is expected of them over the longer term—for example, what the approach to grandfathering will be and when the reviews might happen. The EPS could be a very important steer and plus point in terms of attracting investment into this country, although I think I heard her indicate that there may be a case at this stage for applying it to gas as well. My anxiety about that is that we are not in the position to turn away investors who want to invest in gas at this time, too. We need to be very clear and careful about how it is introduced. The main drivers for low-carbon technology would be less from the emissions performance standard, and more from the feed-in tariff arrangements that we will introduce. We have also said that we will introduce a carbon floor price in 2013, and increasing gradually to 2020. That gives an early and credible long-term signal to investors that we are serious about encouraging investment in low-carbon technologies.

I understand absolutely the point made by the hon. Member for Liverpool, Wavertree. We have been talking closely with the coal industry and other people who are intensive energy users. We have to balance the urgent need to bring forward investment at twice the rate in this decade than was achieved in the previous decade, to meet the security of supply requirements that this country faces, and to do so in a way that does not create carbon leakage. It would not be sensible to drive away from the United Kingdom industries that can be a critical part of our manufacturing process—carbon emitters and heavy energy users. That would only result in that carbon being produced somewhere else in the world. There would be no net gain to the world. We would lose the jobs and have to import the products at the end of it—there would be no gain. That is why we have committed, over the course of the rest of this year, to put in place a series of measures to protect critical industries that are energy intensive users.

That lays the foundations for a sustainable economy, and will help to bring billions of pounds of investment into the United Kingdom through greater certainty. It will help to safeguard jobs, and will help to bring some of that supply-chain investment to this country, too. That is a right and proper target and objective for the Government. It also means that we have to develop carbon capture and storage.

Carbon capture and storage is not a luxury add-on; it is a fundamental part of our energy approach. We recognise the role that coal and gas will play for many years. That is possible with CCS in a way that could not happen without the development of CCS technology. I am pleased to see the progress in this country at a time when we see CCS deployment slipping back in other countries—Norway has put it back to 2018, and Holland is just delaying it, as are other projects elsewhere in the world. Britain remains one of the leaders on this. The £1 billion is the largest contribution that any Government anywhere in the world has committed to a single project. We have built on the work of the previous Government. Paddy Tipping referred to this as the competition without end, because it was going on for so long. I am glad that, in the course of the next few months, we hope to bring that to an end, although it is a complicated process.

The issues raised by the hon. Lady on shared access for infrastructure all need to be tied up in legal contracts with a variety of partners. We want to bring that to a close as soon as we can, ideally in these summer months.

[Mr David Hamilton]

Will the Minister encourage us to find out just exactly what contribution the Scottish Government are making? I believe that the Scottish Government are entitled to make a contribution, if that is the first big project of its kind to go. Of course, never shall the day come when we have separation—because I am a Unionist through and through—but surely it is right for this Government to check and make sure that the Scottish Government make a contribution if that day ever did come.

[Charles Hendry]

Energy remains a retained power. Clearly, the Scottish Government have decision-making powers on planning. That is why they have ruled out such things as new nuclear in Scotland. Nevertheless, energy policy is driven from Whitehall and Westminster. We therefore believe that if this is something that we want to achieve as a national Government, then we should be in the driving seat. If the Scottish Government were to say, “Here is a few million pounds to make it happen”, we would of course be very enthusiastic and grateful to them, although there are not many indications so far that the cheque is in the post. Nevertheless, this will be taken forward by us, as a Government and as the Department of Energy and Climate Change, with a cross-party approach here, and I hope that we can find that agreement in the course of the next few months.

We have a range of technologies, an issue touched on by my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood. This should not just be about post-combustion technology. We need to look at oxy-fuel combustion and pre-combustion technologies, and that is what we want to see coming forward. In the course of the rest of this year we will set out the nature of the competition for the remaining projects—projects 2 to 4—and look at where we would like that to add to our knowledge, the type of technology that we may wish to see coming through with that, and to apply that to gas, too. Again, the world outlook on gas has changed a great deal and we need to take account of that.

I would say to my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood that this is a technology that is still in its infancy. We know that the individual parts of it can work. We know that it can be separated—we have seen that done on a small scale. We know that it can be transported and we know that it can be injected into the sea bed. However, nobody in the world has done that at scale, so we do not yet know what the challenges are of doing that at scale, or what the costs will be. In terms of a time scale, to have four projects running by 2020 is extremely ambitious. We are not going to arrive at a stage where we can move it beyond that. We can absolutely see this technology moving forward in the 2020s. Global ambition suggests perhaps 100 projects by 2020, but 3,000 projects by 2050. This is therefore a process that will inevitably start carefully, but then build up dramatically over time. Everything that we are doing here is determined to ensure that the United Kingdom can be in a real leadership position. What we also see from industry shows that it wants to be part of that process. The NER300 process is a European competition, and almost half of the schemes coming forward for CCS are in the United Kingdom. That shows the appetite among our industry, our universities and our whole supply chain to help lead in this area.