Energy experts call for carbon capture scheme for gas fired power stations

Executives from leading energy firms argue that new gas plants should fit carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology

New gas plants should be subject to the same rules that force new coal plants to fit carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, according to leading energy bosses.

Experts fear that the government's new policy on CCS for coal power will lead to a boom in the construction of gas plants which do not have to bury their carbon emissions.

Vincent de Rivaz, chief executive of EDF Energy, said there was no point forcing only new coal plants to fit the expensive and largely untried technology. "We have to have a consistent rule applying to everyone. If you want to decarbonise electricity we need to do it [fit CCS to gas plants].'

Joan MacNaughton, senior vice-president at Alstom, the power generation firm, formerly one of the government's most senior energy advisers, said that CCS should be fitted to new gas plants soon. "We can't do everything at once," she said. "That means fitting CCS technology to new coal plants is the priority as they produce more emissions. But we do have to do new gas plants pretty soon. Building more 'unabated' fossil fuel plants for years to come would just mean we have a much bigger problem to tackle later on."

In April, energy and climate change secretary Ed Miliband announced that new coal plants built in Britain would have to capture about a quarter of their carbon emissions from the outset. Once CCS technology has been technically and commercially proved, which could take at least a decade, all the plants' emissions will have to be captured. The government launched a consultation on its new CCS policy, which closes early next month.

The policy appeased some campaigners concerned about the environmental impact of new coal plants planned for the UK because coal power is one of the most carbon-intensive ways to generate electricity. As a result of the policy, only the handful of coal plants which qualify for government financial support to fit the technology will be built, prompting concern that unabated gas plants could fill the generation gap.

Power generation firms expect they will have to fit CCS technology to their gas plants at some point. EDF Energy's gas plant under construction at West Burton has been designed as "carbon capture ready" so equipment can be fitted later.

The government has set a target of reducing carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. To have any chance of meeting this, all electricity generation would have to come from renewables and low carbon technologies such as nuclear power and fossil fuel plants which have CCS fitted.

Today's best video

Today in pictures