Jobs boost for Wales and North West as CCS industry grows

Photo: Liverpool Bay CCS

Having received Government approval in April to start construction of the Liverpool Bay Transportation and Storage network, the HyNet carbon-capture cluster got another boost earlier this month as new projects entered negotiations with the Government and industry to join the site. They could support a total of 2,800 direct, skilled jobs and unlock growth and investment throughout the HyNet network, which spans Cheshire and Flintshire.

Although carbon capture and storage (CCS) has its doubters regarding safety, it forms part of the Government’s modern Industrial Strategy and will help ‘to cleanly power heavy industry in the years to come’. It is expected that CCS will support up to 50,000 jobs as the industry develops into the 2030s.

Industry Minister Sarah Jones said: “We are securing the jobs of the future, the power for our homes, and the protection of our planet by becoming world leaders on carbon capture and storage. These new projects will bring industrial renewal, unlock growth and secure an additional 800 skilled jobs for local people across North Wales and the North West, taking the total supported by HyNet to 2,800.”

Jo Stevens, Secretary of State for Wales, added: “This is another significant moment for the growing clean energy industry in Wales. We are making the UK a clean energy superpower and delivering the well-paid, highly skilled jobs of the future in the process. It is fantastic to see North Wales at the forefront of the carbon capture industry, and the hundreds of new jobs being created by the HyNet project will help drive regional growth as well as accelerating our drive towards lower bills and energy security.”

The two projects being prioritised to join the network are: Connah’s Quay Low Carbon Power project in North Wales, and Ince Bioenergy’s Carbon Capture and Storage (InBECCS) in Cheshire. Connah’s Quay is a new power station with carbon capture and storage that at peak output is expected to produce enough clean energy to power the equivalent of 900,000 homes and provide essential backup for a clean power system when wind and solar generation is low. The Ince Bioenergy project will use waste wood to generate low-carbon energy and capture CO₂ emissions and will be the first carbon-capture-enabled greenhouse gas removals project in the UK.