Another important building block is carbon capture

Mid-May RWE announced plans to carrying out feasibility studies, preparatory work and investigating options for carbon capture technology at three of its sites across the UK.

At the gas-fired power stations Pembroke and Staythorpe RWE is testing the feasibility to retrofit carbon capture technology. The company is also developing proposals for a new carbon-capture, gas fired power station at Stallingborough in North East Lincolnshire. These projects would secure up to 4.7 GW of generation while capturing a staggering 11 million tonnes of CO2 per year. To put that into perspective, this equals the removal of about 2.2. million petrol cars from the road.

All three projects are close to proposed CO2 networks or will have access to shipping facilities, which would enable the CO2 to be safely transported and stored by third parties. For that RWE has developed partnerships with industrial clusters South Wales Industrial Cluster (SWIC) and Viking CCS in order to develop these transportation and storage options.

Where possible, utilisation options for the captured CO2 will be targeted.

Decarbonising the power sector is a daunting task. Not only is it necessary to massively expand renewable energy capacities and ramp-up storage facilities - RWE also needs to focus on technologies such as carbon capture and storage (CCS). The IPCC report from 2022 for example points this technology out as an integral part to reduce carbon emissions and slow down climate change.

Gas-fired power stations, equipped with CCS technology, could provide energy security by backing up solar and wind capacities when the wind is low or there is no sun. In the race to net zero, these projects would be a viable solution and an essential tool.