Coal Fired Power Stations

This article whilst Scottish in content is important from an English energy perspective as it seems to ring the death knell of clean coal as a way forward in the UK. I have previously let on that having grown up in a mining and power station area I might be more open minded than some on the benefits, especially factoring in the jobs created, of new coal fired stations. Looks like nothing is going to be happening for a while on this front on the strength of this story which explains:

Controversial plans to build a major coal-fired power station in Ayrshire using unproven “clean coal” technology have been abandoned, to the delight of environmental campaigners.

The developers, Ayrshire Power, blamed their unexpected decision to withdraw plans for a new 1852MW carbon-capture power station at Hunterston on the recession and anxieties about winning funding from the government and European commission.

Their announcement, just days after the dates for a public inquiry into the project were agreed by a Scottish planning inspector, is another blow to the UK and Scottish government’s attempts to promote carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a centrepiece of their efforts to combat climate change.

Several major pilot projects, including a £1bn scheme to retrofit CCS at Longannet power station in Fife, have been cancelled in the last few years because of doubts over their financial and technical viability. Some are still under consideration for EU and government funding, including one recent proposal to build a CCS project at Peterhead by the energy firms SSE and Shell.