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Carbon capture 'not fig leaf to justify coal plants'

Potential carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, which is still in its infancy, should not be used as a way of making coal-burning power stations seem environmentally acceptable, according to MPs.

Members of the House of Commons Environmental Committee investigating CCS expressed their disappointment at the lack of progress made on the technology.

Although E.on claims its Kingsnorth plant will use CCS, the report claims that the technology will not be widely used until 2020.

And, given that situation, the MP's said that CCS should not be used to justify new coal plants.

The report reads: "We cannot emphasise strongly enough that the possibility of CCS should not be used as a fig leaf to give unabated coal-fired power stations an appearance of environmental acceptability."

According to the Guardian, although E.on has publicly said that it is holding back on planning until CCS technology is available, it has been preparing for construction.

The newspaper saw emails from the senior development engineer to a civil servant at the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform asking for a meeting to discuss planning conditions "as we are looking to finalise contracts".