Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the basis is for the selection of the carbon capture and storage sites; and if he will publish any scoring mechanisms used.

The purpose of Phase-1 of the Cluster Sequencing process was to identify clusters which are best-suited to deployment in the mid-2020s window, these will be sequenced onto Track-1.

Clusters were selected through a transparent and objective assessment process. The details of this were published in May in the Phase 1 documents: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cluster-sequencing-for-carbon-capture-usage-and-storage-ccus-deployment-phase-1-expressions-of-interest.

Clusters submitted a range of detailed information on their structure, estimated costs and benefits, and technical project plans. To be eligible, clusters had to meet three eligibility criteria: that they could be operational by 2030, are located within the UK, and meet our definition of a CCUS cluster. These eligibility criteria were designed to reflect government targets and ambitions, to promote decarbonisation across the UK and to reflect the inherent interdependency of the CCUS chain.

Five clusters met the eligibility criteria and were taken forwards into the detailed assessment stage where they were scored against five criteria, as set out in the Phase-1 launch document: deliverability, emissions reduction potential, economic benefits, cost considerations, and learning and innovation. Scoring was informed by robust, specialist-led scrutiny of the cluster submissions. The clusters selected to be sequenced onto Track-1 were those with the highest combined weighted scores across the criteria.