EC allocates €150 for Dutch carbon storage plant


27 Oct 2010

A CO2 capture and storage project in the Netherlands has been authorised by the European Commission (EC) to capture emissions coming from a coal-fired power plant.

The permission has been given under EU state aid rules to provide a €150m grant for the CO2 capture and storage (CCS) demonstration project to a joint venture between energy corporations E.ON and GDF Suez.

The joint venture will construct a CO2 capture plant in the Rotterdam port area with the aim to capture part of the CO2 emitted by E.ON’s coal-fired power plant and transport it to a depleted gas field in the North Sea for storage.

Positive effects

The allocated funds fall in line with EU state aid rules as the positive effects of the measure outweigh the potential distortions of competition and the project is also allocated EU support from the European Energy Programme for Recovery (EEPR).

“The Dutch CCS project will contribute to reaching the EU 2020 environmental objectives without unduly distorting competition,” said Commission vice-president in charge of competition policy Joaquín Almunia. 

1.1m tonnes of CO2

The plant is expected to capture an annual amount of 1.1m tonnes of CO2 – the equivalent of 250megawatts (MW) – and will be constructed next to the E.ON coal-fired Maasvlakte Power Plant.

Once the captured CO2 is transported through a pipeline to a nearby depleted gas field in the North Sea, it will be stored.

The development of CO2 capture and storage is part of the 2008 climate and energy package for reaching the EU 2020 environmental objectives.