CO2 capture regulations in the spotlight at first SPRINT event
Operators of CO2 capture plants face vastly different regulatory and permitting requirements across regions and countries, according to evidence presented at SCOPE’s Stakeholder, Policy, Research and Industry Network (SPRINT) event this month.
The event, hosted by Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM) in Bergen, Norway and online, was the first in a series of themed forums designed to facilitate the exchange of knowledge on technical and regulatory developments related to CO2 capture.
Centred on ‘Regulations, Permitting and a Review of the Guidelines for Emissions Control’, the event included a talk by Ling Yuan Hem, case officer for Fortum Oslo Varme’s waste-to-energy CCS project at the Norwegian environmental regulator.
TNO’s Peter van Os, Eirini Skylogianni and Roberta Figueiredo later presented the results of a stakeholder survey which identified consistencies and differences in regulatory and permitting processes across five European countries, as well as variations in levels of state support for carbon capture technologies.
The survey found that capture plant operators have to comply with a wide variety of regional, national and international regulations which can, in some cases, differ within countries, notably in Germany and Norway.
Stakeholders also highlighted international variation in permitting processes, though in all surveyed countries where a specific permit is needed to operate a capture plant, the requirements were considered clear and the processes were described as extensive.
SCOPE researchers are studying how the regulatory environment for carbon capture can be harmonised and a series of recommendations is being developed to improve the legitimacy of capture projects and regulations.
The SPRINT event was held alongside SCOPE’s inaugural project meeting, which brought together partners from six countries to share progress on SCOPE’s five work packages. The meeting included a visit to TCM’s facility in Mongstad (pictured), the world’s largest and most flexible test centre for developing CO2 capture technologies.
The next SPRINT event, on ‘Developing best practices for emissions control’, will be hosted by RWE in Cologne and Niederaussem, Germany in November 2022. For more information, please contact: Hanne Kvamsdal, SCOPE Project Coordinator.