Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she made of the value for money of carbon capture and storage before the Government's carbon capture and storage competition was suspended; and how much from the public purse had been spent on that competition at the time of suspension.

The provision of ring-fenced capital support for CCS was judged against other Government funding priorities as part of the Spending Review. My department has paid £78.6m between 2011/12 and November 2015 on the CCS Competition including the investment in Front End Engineering and Design (approximately £60 million), independent professional technical, legal, financial and commercial advice and civil service staff.

The Government continues to view CCS as having a potential role in the long-term decarbonisation of the UK’s power and industrial sectors, and considers that the investment to date remains value for money to the UK.