The report produced by the Centre for Energy Policy examines some of the potential economic opportunities for Scotland in the further development of CCS.
The process captures large quantities of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from industrial processes, then transports and stores it in suitable rock formations under the seabed.
The research represents a step towards understanding how the industry could become an increasingly valuable part of Scotland’s drive of growing the blue economy.
The ‘Blue Economy’ is an emerging concept which encourages better stewardship of our ocean or ‘blue’ resources.
This new report highlights the potential for CCS to play an important role in helping to sustain around 44,000 direct and indirect Scottish jobs currently linked to oil and gas and other related industrial sectors.
It also suggests a new approach to measuring societal value of the CCS sector, and that value to the Scottish economy could be delivered via developing carbon transport and storage infrastructure and service delivery.
Professor Karen Turner, director of the Centre for Energy Policy at the University of Strathclyde, said: “Our research shows that CCS could benefit jobs in a wide range of sectors across the Scottish economy, not just in the oil and gas industry.
“It focuses attention on the need to consider the value that a CCS industry in Scotland could sustain and grow through CO2 transport and storage activity during the low carbon transition.
“We need to shift away from only focussing on questions of technology and costs.”
Large-scale development of CCS could help reduce emissions from industrial sectors that are hard to decarbonise, as well as create opportunities for a skilled oil and gas and support industry workforce to transition to work in low carbon infrastructure.
It could also offer major industries such as oil and gas the ability to decarbonise and respond to the climate change ambitions set out by The Scottish Government.
Crown Estate Scotland plays a key part in future development of CCS as it manages leasing rights to carbon and gas storage out to 200 nautical miles.
Colin Palmer, Head of Marine for Crown Estate Scotland, said: “This work helps us to understand the potential economic and environmental value to Scotland of large-scale CCS. In our role as enabler, we want to work with the sector in the coming years to make the most of Scotland’s natural assets – workers and the climate will both benefit.”
The nature of the geology deep below the Central North Sea means Scotland has the potential to host around 75 per cent of the UK’s capacity of CO2 emissions, helping meet both UK and Scottish climate change targets.
Last year Crown Estate Scotland signed its first ever lease agreement for carbon dioxide (CO2) storage, Acorn CCS, to be based at the St Fergus Gas Terminal on the Aberdeenshire coast.
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