UK government gives the go-ahead to store 100 MILLION tonnes of CO2 under the North Sea - but experts raise fears the greenhouse gas could leak and taint water supplies
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The UK Government has given the go-ahead for a controversial plan to store 100 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) beneath the North Sea. Regulators have given Northern Endurance Partnership - a coalition of energy companies led by BP and Equinor - a licence to start pumping CO2 to a site nearly a kilometre beneath the seabed.
![[Northern Endurance Partnership has been awarded the UK's first permit to take CO2 generated by carbon capture projects near Teesside and inject this into an expended oil field almost a kilometre beneath the seabed]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/11/11/93034031-14181041-Northern_Endurance_Partnership_has_been_awarded_the_UK_s_first_p-a-31_1733917156829.jpg)
Starting in 2027, the new 'carbon capture and storage' facility will store four million tonnes of liquified CO2 per year in an underground aquifer off the Yorkshire coast. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband says: 'This investment launches a new era for clean energy in Britain - boosting energy security, backing industries, and supporting thousands of highly skilled jobs in Teesside and the North East.
![[Carbon Capture projects use huge metal 'air scrubbers' to pull CO2 out of the surrounding air so that it can be safely removed from the environment. Pictured: The Mammoth carbon capture facility in Switzerland]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/11/11/93034059-14181041-image-a-8_1733914801583.jpg)
'This is the Government’s mission to make the UK a clean energy superpower in action- replacing Britain’s energy insecurity with homegrown clean power that rebuilds the strength of our industrial heartlands.'. While carbon capture has been hailed as a vital step towards securing a net zero future for the UK, many experts have raised concerns about the long-term safety of storing carbon deep beneath the sea.
![[Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband, has promised £21.7 billion of investment in carbon capture facilities around the UK]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/11/11/93034047-14181041-image-a-12_1733915640026.jpg)
Previous studies have shown that even small amounts of escaping CO2 can have a massive impact. For example, if CO2 escapes through natural faults or poorly sealed wells, it could taint water supplies with deadly metals - including arsenic, lead, and uranium.
![[The government has already granted 26 further licences for CCS projects around the UK, with a second permit expected to be granted in the coming months. By 2030, the UK could store 20-30 million tonnes of CO2 per year]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/11/11/93034115-14181041-image-a-9_1733914891756.jpg)
