Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - 'Capture ready' regulation of fossil fuel power plants
T2 - betting the UK's carbon emissions on promises of future technology
AU - Markusson, Nils
AU - Haszeldine, Stuart
PY - 2010/11
Y1 - 2010/11
N2 - Climate change legislation requires emissions reductions, but the market shows interest in investing in new fossil fuelled power plants. The question is whether capture ready policy can reconcile these interests. The term ‘capture ready’ has been used a few years by the UK Government when granting licences for fossil fuelled power plants, but only recently has the meaning of the term been defined. The policy has been promoted as a step towards CCS and as an insurance against carbon lock-in. This paper draws on literature on technology lock-in and on regulation of technology undergoing development. Further, versions of the capture readiness concept proposed to date are compared. Capture readiness requirements beyond the minimum criterion of space on the site for capture operations are explored. This includes integration of capture and power plant, downstream operations, overall system integration and regulation of future retrofitting. Capture readiness comes with serious uncertainties and is no guarantee that new-built fossil plants will be abatable or abated in the future. As a regulatory strategy, it has been over-promised in the UK.
AB - Climate change legislation requires emissions reductions, but the market shows interest in investing in new fossil fuelled power plants. The question is whether capture ready policy can reconcile these interests. The term ‘capture ready’ has been used a few years by the UK Government when granting licences for fossil fuelled power plants, but only recently has the meaning of the term been defined. The policy has been promoted as a step towards CCS and as an insurance against carbon lock-in. This paper draws on literature on technology lock-in and on regulation of technology undergoing development. Further, versions of the capture readiness concept proposed to date are compared. Capture readiness requirements beyond the minimum criterion of space on the site for capture operations are explored. This includes integration of capture and power plant, downstream operations, overall system integration and regulation of future retrofitting. Capture readiness comes with serious uncertainties and is no guarantee that new-built fossil plants will be abatable or abated in the future. As a regulatory strategy, it has been over-promised in the UK.
KW - Carbon capture and storage
KW - Capture ready
KW - Regulation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77957799173&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.enpol.2010.06.039
DO - 10.1016/j.enpol.2010.06.039
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:77957799173
VL - 38
SP - 6695
EP - 6702
JO - Energy Policy
JF - Energy Policy
SN - 0301-4215
IS - 11
ER -