A company leading work on a pioneering carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Scotland has won a fresh vote of confidence after an energy industry heavy-hitter joined its board.
Alistair Buchanan, former chief executive of energy regulator Ofgem, has been appointed chairman of Storrega Geotechnologies at what he said was an exciting time in its development.
Storrega is in the final stages of engineering studies for a project which could help establish carbon capture and storage as a key part of the Government’s efforts to help tackle the threat of global warming.
The Acorn project will involve storing carbon dioxide emissions from across Scotland in a depleted North Sea reservoir, and the production of hydrogen fuel at a related facility. Emissions would be shipped offshore via the St Fergus terminal in Aberdeenshire.
Storrega is bidding for Government support for the project in the hope it could become one of the first large scale CCS schemes to become operational in the UK.
Acorn is supported by oil giant Shell and North Sea-focused Harbour Energy.
In March Storrega won backing from Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC and Japanese industrial giant Misui, who joined Australian investment bank Macquarie on the shareholder list.
The investors hope the Acorn project will help develop a model that could be rolled out around the world.
Mr Buchanan said Storrega’s work was positioning the UK as a global leader in CCS solutions.
His experience could be very valuable as Storrega looks to establish itself as a leader in a market that is in its infancy. The Government is still developing the business model for CCS. This is expected to include the introduction of a carbon pricing mechanism that will encourage users to pay Acorn to handle their carbon dioxide emissions.
Mr Buchanan led Ofgem from 20013 to 2013. Storrega said Mr Buchanan led on the creation of the regulatory structure for the offshore wind industry and the total revision of the on shore network regulatory regime. The company added: “This experience will enable Storegga to provide further assurance to both BEIS (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) and Ofgem during future critical discussions on both the shape of carbon and hydrogen markets, and the regulatory process to be adopted.”
Other firms are working on plans to develop CCS projects in Northern England and South Wales.
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