Carbon Capture Plant commissioned

[kenneal - lagger]

Sea defences combined with wave power machines would be a good area of research as the machines would take a lot of the energy out of the waves so the impact on the sea defence would be lessened.

The UK has been investigating in wave power machines and also tidal power for some time now and viable machinery is currently coming on line.

[adam2]

My rather cynical view of local authority "research" into renewable energy Is that a million pounds is most unlikely to discover anything new or better than is already available on the open market.

My suspicion is that the money would be poured down politically correct rabbit holes with only a tenuous connection to actually producing renewable energy.

"Renewable energy and the impact on Women's issues"
"Renewable energy and the transgender community"
"How to increase uptake by disadvantaged minority groups"
"Historic links between the slave trade and major UK renewables firm"

And other possibly even nuttier research.

Fitting PV modules to existing buildings and other structures would be more helpful.

Wave power might be worthy of more research, but by a major university not a local authority. If I were in charge of such matters, I would leave wave power research to the private sector. BUT I would encourage such research by offering to pay a generous premium price for each KWH from wave power. Maybe as much as £1 a unit. If someone builds a wave power machine that produces useful power, then £1 a unit will encourage wider adoption, mass production, and lower costs. If no one builds such a machine, or if it washes away in the first storm, then the cost to the public purse will be minimal.
Wind and solar power are now significant in the UK, partly due to the generous subsidies offered in the early days.

[BritDownUnder]

My rather cynical view of local authority "research" ......

"Renewable energy and the impact on Women's issues"
"Renewable energy and the transgender community"
"How to increase uptake by disadvantaged minority groups"
"Historic links between the slave trade and major UK renewables firm"

I would have to call this gross cynicism especially for the last research topic though I fully believe that it could happen at one of the nuttier councils.

[Mark]

£20m carbon capture plant opens:
https://www.insidermedia.com/news/north ... lant-opens

Tata Chemicals Europe has officially opened an industrial-scale carbon capture plant and usage plant in Cheshire following a £20m investment. The project has been completed by Northwich-based Tata Chemicals Europe, a producer of sodium carbonate, salt and sodium bicarbonate. The plant can capture 40,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year – the equivalent to taking more than 20,000 cars off the roads – and reduces TCE's carbon emissions by more than 10 per cent. The project is also set to help unlock the future of carbon capture in the UK as it demonstrates the viability of the technology to remove carbon dioxide from power plant emissions and to use it in high-end manufacturing applications.

Continues....

CCU, rather than CCS, but a small step in the right direction.....

[kenneal - lagger]

I suspect that this type of carbon capture and use (CCU) plant will be deliberately or otherwise confused by some elements of the press as carbon capture and storage (CCS) plant in order to justify BAU.

If anyone is confused already, CCU uses the CO2 to manufacture chemicals which are used in domestic or manufacturing processes which then return the CO2 directly to the atmosphere. They cannot be used to ameliorate global warming.

CCS, however, fixes the CO2 either chemically or compresses it when it is then committed to ultra long term storage. CCS therefore can be used to reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere to reduce the amount of future warming. CCU can't.

[BritDownUnder]

I would expect CCU be used to make fuel for long-range planes and suchlike that may not be safely/practically run on hydrogen or electricity at some time in the future, and also to keep conventional aviation running a bit longer as a BAU extension.