RPS helps drive Redcar Energy Centre to the next stage of BEIS’ industrial carbon capture (ICC) sequencing process

RPS is delighted to have supported Low Carbon’s Redcar Energy Centre (REC) project in its application to the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy’s (BEIS) Phase 2 Carbon Capture, Usage, and Storage (CCUS) Cluster Process.

The application was recently confirmed as shortlisted to the Due Diligence stage of the process. We're proud to have advised Low Carbon on this project, which is one of only 20 innovative projects to be shortlisted as part of the CCUS Cluster Process, an integral part of the Government’s Net Zero goals, and one of only a handful of shortlisted EFW projects.

By being shortlisted, the REC now has the opportunity to become one of the first carbon negative energy recovery facilities in the world. Once complete, the energy centre would have state of the art carbon capture technology, and provide a benchmark for other Energy from Waste (EfW) facilities in the UK looking to implement carbon capture.

This would see more than 400,000 tonnes of CO₂ captured and transported per year to the Endurance carbon store, a saline aquifer in the North Sea. The aim is for the East Coast Cluster to capture and store 20-30 MtCO2 a year by 2030, removing 50% of the UK’s industrial cluster CO₂ emissions.

Having led the preparation of the original planning application, we combined our expertise and relationships with local stakeholders to provide strategic planning, EIA, and environmental permitting advice to inform Low Carbon's application; demonstrating that carbon capture infrastructure could be delivered within the Government’s ambitious timescales.

Andrew Stevenson, Director – Planning, RPS said: “This success comes just over eighteen months after we secured planning permission for the £300 million Redcar Energy Centre facility, and we’re now delighted to have provided strategic consenting advice on the delivery of this project as part of the Bid. 

“The Redcar Energy Centre is a fantastic project which will deliver low carbon and renewable energy through the delivery of one of the first carbon negative EfWs in the UK and globally. Being shortlisted for Phase 2 demonstrates both Low Carbon’s and our own commitment to delivering projects to meet Net Zero targets and a Green Recovery.

“It also demonstrates RPS’ expertise at the forefront of the decarbonisation of the UK economy, by providing pragmatic advice to innovative companies and helping to solve the climate change emergency”.

This ambitious scheme shortlisted by BEIS would cement the UK as a world leader in carbon capture for EFW.

Dominic Noel-Johnson, Managing Director, Investments at Low Carbon said:
“For over a decade, Low Carbon has been dedicated to decarbonising the energy industry by investing in both established technologies like solar, and innovative emerging technologies like carbon capture. The proposal for Redcar Energy Centre is a fantastic example of this.

“We’re pleased that our proposal has progressed further, we’re that one step closer to removing greenhouse gas emissions from the UK’s atmosphere. By 2030, Low Carbon seeks to achieve net zero emissions across all three scopes, and world-leading projects like Redcar Energy Centre are key to this.”