Page 9 - Gi_November2019

industry & government news

IDEAS SOUGHT FOR CARBON CAPTURE GOALS

£90M ANNUAL ‘REMARKABLY ACHIEVABLE’

INNOVATION

COMPETITION SAYS OGA BOSS

UP TO £90 MILLION of funding
will be up for grabs in the upcoming
Network Innovation Competition.
£70 million for electricity network TECHNOLOGY CENTRE MONGSTAD
projects and £20 million for gas
network projects is being made
available with cross-sector schemes
potentially able to access funding
from both pots.
The annual competition is
designed to support a range of large
scale energy innovation projects in
communities across the country.
Run by Ofgem, network companies
and their partners will compete
for funding for the development
and demonstration of new energy
technologies that will help run energy
network infrastructure in a smarter, NORWAY HAS SEEN SOME SUCCESS WITH CCS ALREADY
cleaner and more flexible way.
Proposals must provide a THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE of the Oil and to have that optionality.
clear cost benefit to the public, Gas Authority (OGA) has claimed the “If you look at the CCC report, it is
cost benefits to the running of UK’s goals for a crucial new climate remarkably achievable what we need to
the networks, environmental change technology are “remarkably do in the CCS space.
benefits and demonstrate genuine achievable”, reports Energy Voice. “Six to 15 large-scale – so think full-
innovation. They will need to fit with Andy Samuel was speaking at the size Acorn – six to 15 of those can cover
the priority areas, set out in the Gas Hydrogen Festival in Aberdeen, arguing the low to high range the Committee on
and Electricity Network Innovation 2019 is a “key year” for carbon capture Climate Change is calling for.
Strategies or one of the possible and storage (CCS). “So I think this is very, very
cross-sector areas, such as whole CCS is a technology which stores achievable and I would like to think we
system planning. emissions underground, with the UK can go a lot further.”
North Sea holding “massive potential” While work is needed to improve
The call for ideas is now open and through its depleted oil and gas fields. the cost of the technology, Mr Samuel
closes on 8 November at 5pm. For more A report earlier this year from said from a storage and transport
information, visit the ENA’s Network Committee on Climate Change (CCC) perspective it would cost a “relatively
Innovation Collaboration Portal at argued that large scale deployment of minor” half a dollar per barrel of oil
www.nicollaborationportal.org CCS is “essential” for the UK to meet its produced, which would be a “doable
goals of net zero emissions by 2050. investment” for the industry.
The OGA is consulting with industry Looking more widely, Mr Samuel
on reusing oil and gas infrastructure highlighted that the OGA is tracking
and on creating new business models around 60 energy integration projects
NATIONAL GRID
to hear what is needed to “facilitate across the UK and overseas and is
getting on with CCS”. working with partners to support
Aberdeenshire has a demonstrator several of them.
project in Acorn CCS at the St Fergus Between platform electrification, gas
gas terminal, which both Shell and to wire, CCS, various forms of hydrogen
Chrysaor have backed with a view and offshore energy power hubs, he
to upscaling it to be potentially said there are a “whole variety of novel
operational by 2023-2024. combinations” to create value while
The OGA issued its first CCS storage reducing emissions.
licence to the project last year. He referenced a slide which showed
Mr Samuel said: “The exciting thing a host of projects the OGA is working
is, more so than any other North Sea on along the east and west coasts,
THE MONEY WILL GO TO country, we have massive storage Norway, the Netherlands and Shetland,
GAS INNOVATION PROJECTS potential. Way more than I think we adding he’d like to see some of these
will probably ever need, but it is great sanctioned by this time next year.

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News.indd 4 17/10/2019 13:45