Balfour Beatty snags Teesside carbon capture deal
UK construction firm Balfour Beatty and its energy consortium have been selected to enter the 12-month Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) competition for the carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at the Net Zero Teesside power plant.
The firm will aid in the design and implementation of technical solutions for the 860MW power station and its CCS plant as well as the Northern Endurance Partnership’s high-pressure carbon dioxide compression and export facilities - one of only two consortia given the job by plant owner BP.
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“Today represents a significant milestone in the decarbonisation of the UK. One that further demonstrates how, together, we are harnessing the spirit of collaboration to help shape the ambitions that will help us tackle the climate change challenge", said Stephen Tarr, Chief Executive Officer of Balfour Beatty’s Major Projects and Highways business.
“Whilst there is inevitably still more to be done, alongside the consortium partners, we are forging a path towards the sustainable infrastructure of the future; putting our foot to the pedal as we work to build back smarter, greener and faster", he added.
The Technip Energies and General Electric Gas Power consortium, which includes other key players such as Shell and is led by Technip Energies, will work alongside the Aker Solutions Doosan Babcock and Siemens Energy consortium on the project.
Starting in 2023, a single consortium will be expected to oversee the construction phase of the project.
“Moving to Front End Engineering Design is a major step forward for Net Zero Teesside Power and the development of the Northern Endurance Partnership", said Louise Kingham, BP's European vice president.
"This first-of-a-kind project has the potential to deliver enough low carbon, flexible electricity to power around 1.3 million homes, and can help secure Teesside’s position at the green heart of the country’s energy transition".
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The Teesside plant is gas-fired, which means carbon capture will be required to limit emissions.
Founded as a joint venture between oil giant BP and Norwegian energy company Equinor, with plans to store as much as 50% of all UK industrial CO2 emissions - equivalent to 27 million tonnes of carbon dioxide - a year by 2035. It could also supply as many as 25,000 jobs along its value chain, BP claims.
It styles itself as a hub for Britain's energy transition despite not relying on nuclear or renewable energy.
“This is the latest milestone in delivering this game-changing facility on Teesside", Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said in a statement.
"The project puts our region, our engineers and our scientists at the centre of plans for the UK to be net-zero by 2050 and with it thousands of good-quality, well-paid jobs developing the cleaner, safer and healthier industries of the future.
"It is also critical for safeguarding the thousands of jobs in our chemicals and processing industries – industries we lead the world in.”
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