The government will come under increased pressure today to ban new coal-fired power stations such as the one planned for Kingsnorth in Kent unless they are equipped to trap and store carbon pollution underground, as a committee of MPs publishes a critical report.

The environmental audit committee urges ministers to make it clear that coal power plants that do not fit carbon capture and storage (CCS) equipment will be closed down. It says the government must set a deadline, after which the operation of unabated coal-fired power stations should not be permitted.

Tim Yeo, chairman of the committee, said: “We cannot afford to develop new coal-fired power stations when we have no guarantee about when they will be fitted with CCS, if at all.”

A failure to set such a deadline would make it difficult for the UK to meet carbon-reduction targets, the committee said.

The government is debating whether to allow the German-owned utility E.ON to press ahead with a new coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth in Kent. The company wants to proceed with the scheme, promising to fit CCS later if it can be proved to be technically and financially viable.

Environmentalists see the Kent project as a vital test of the government’s green credentials and want Kingsnorth given the go-ahead only if CCS is installed. Greenpeace believes the environmental audit committee’s conclusions support its case and leaves the government with its back against the wall.

John Sauven, Greenpeace’s executive director, said: “Gordon Brown must now show he has the courage to tackle the threats of energy security, climate change and high energy prices by introducing tough new standards for power stations that limit global-warming emissions. And, in doing so, he must rule out current plans for Kingsnorth.”

Last month, David Cameron said a future Conservative government would impose such emissions restrictions, to in effect ban new coal plants without CCS.

Read Full Story Here