Government under pressure to block bid for new Hunterston plant amid pollution fears
By Rob Edwards, Environment Editor

A controversial plan by a Danish energy company for a new coal-fired power station in Scotland would not be permitted in Denmark because it causes too much climate-wrecking pollution.

Environmentalists, experts and Danish politicians say that Dong Energy, based in Copenhagen, would not be allowed to build the kind of carbon-emitting plant it is proposing for the North Ayrshire port of Hunterston in its home country.

As a result the company has been accused of "hypocrisy" and Scottish ministers are coming under increasing pressure to reject its plans.

But the company says it will pursue its scheme for Hunterston, though it has no plans for new coal stations in Denmark.

Dong, with an annual revenue of 5.6 billion, is Denmark's largest energy company involved in oil, gas and electricity generation. Before Christmas, it announced that it was developing a £2bn proposal for a 1600 megawatt coal-fired power station at Hunterston.

If built, this would be the first new fossil fuel power station in Scotland for 30 years. Without abatement technology, it would also hugely boost the country's carbon dioxide emissions, and jeopardise the government's targets to cut climate pollution.

Dong insists the plant will be "carbon capture ready", enabling its pollution to be trapped and stored. But critics argue that this is a meaningless promise while carbon capture technology is still in its infancy.

"It is hypocritical and unacceptable for Dong to propose a plant in Scotland that would not win approval in their home country," said Dr Richard Dixon, director of WWF Scotland.

"The Danish government strongly backed European parliament standards for power stations that would have meant you couldn't build this plant anywhere in the 27 member countries. That political commitment means this plant would have little chance if proposed in Denmark, especially since Dong is mostly state-owned."

In December, Denmark came out in favour of a carbon emission limit of 500 grams per kilowatt hour for new power stations. This effectively rules out any plant that relies on burning coal for 70% or more of its operation.

According to Dong, the Hunterston plant will rely on coal for at least 86% of its operation. The rest will come from burning biomass such as wood and plants alongside coal.

"If Denmark keeps to a 500-gram emissions standard, this Hunterston plant couldn't be operated in Dong's home country," said Stuart Haszeldine, an expert on carbon capture from the University of Edinburgh.

It would be easy not to build the plant, he argued, but it would be better to insist that it was only operated with carbon capture technology installed. Otherwise it could increase carbon emissions for the next 15 years.

Dong pointed out that the 500-gram standard had been discussed but not implemented by the European Union. "The EU rules on this subject are the same, whether you build a power plant in Denmark or in Scotland," said a company spokesman.

"We have sufficient capacity in Denmark, which is why we have no intention of building a new power plant in Denmark. However, the UK will shortly be needing capacity and that is why we take an active interest in the UK market, both for renewable and conventional power generation."

A leading Danish MP, however, took issue with the company. "We wouldn't permit such a coal-fired power plant in Denmark," said Mette Gjerskov, the climate and energy spokeswoman for the opposition Social Democrats.

"We do not build new coal-powered plants at all and haven't done that in many years. We have only permitted power plants with other energy sources, such as gas."

She added: "Coal is an energy source of the past, not the future. New power plants will be in use for 50-70 years, and for that time coal should not be used at all."

Backing for a new coal plant at Hunterston was included in the Scottish government's national planning framework, published in December.

"As part of a balanced energy mix, new coal-fired power stations have a long-term future in Scotland," said a government spokesman.

New stations would be required to be "ready to incorporate" carbon capture technology, he stressed. "Any application will be treated on its merits and we will take into account the views of consultees and the public."