National Grid : Public hearings for CCS Project

• National Grid's CCS Project advances to public hearings stage
• Project could help power stations in Yorkshire and the Humber capture up to 90 per cent of their carbon dioxide emissions
• Government to take final decision later this year

National Grid's plans to build a new pipeline in the Yorkshire and Humber region are being examined in public this week by a government inspector.

Several days of site visits and public examination hearings for the Yorkshire and Humber CCS Project have been scheduled to take place in late January and early February, as part of the Government's formal examination of National Grid's pipeline project.  The hearings will take at Bishop Burton College near Beverley.

The project involves constructing a new, buried pipeline to transport carbon dioxide produced by major power stations in the region - including the proposed White Rose CCS Project at Drax - to a point south of Bridlington and then out to the North Sea to be permanently stored within natural porous rock formations beneath the seabed.

The application was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate, the government body responsible for assessing major infrastructure applications, last summer following several years of consultation with local councils, landowners, communities and other interested parties.

Russell Cooper, technical services manager at National Grid, said "We are pleased to have reached this important milestone for the project and will continue to assist the inspector in examining the application over the coming months.  This project has the potential to be a UK first and will put the Yorkshire and Humber region at the forefront of global CCS technology.  If approved, we are talking about innovative engineering that will capture up to 90 per cent of the carbon dioxide produced by fossil fuel power stations and other heavy industry in the region."

The planning application is available to view on the Planning Inspectorate's website, http://infrastructure.planningportal.gov.uk/projects/yorkshire-and-the-humber/yorkshire-and-humber-ccs-cross-country-pipeline. For further information, please contact the Planning Inspectorate on 0303 4445000 or email YorksHumberCCSPipeline@infrastructure.gsi.gov.uk, quoting reference EN070001.  Project information is also available on National Grid's project website, www.ccshumber.co.uk.

If the project is approved, works could commence from next year.

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