The aim of the directive is to promote the installation of demonstration plants for CCS, which involves the removal and storage of CO2 emissions at fossil-fired power plants.

Valero Ladron said the EC was still verifying which member states would be affected but that many had failed either partially or fully to transpose the directive before the June 25 deadline.

The EC has awarded Eur1.05 billion ($1.56 billion) for six carbon capture and storage projects from a Eur3.98 billion energy infrastructure fund on strategic energy projects that was awarded in 2009. The projects are in Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the UK.

Enel's plan to build a CCS project at its Porto Tolle plant in Italy also got funding but it is uncertain whether this will go ahead after Italy's state council, the country's highest administrative court, overturned government approval for the project in May following challenges from environmental and tourism groups about its potential environmental impact. A further 22 CCS projects have applied for separate funding which the EC plans to award from the proceeds of the sale of 300 million emissions allowances from the emissions trading system's new entrant reserve. The EC expects to support at least eight of these along with innovative renewables projects.

But delays in transposing the CCS directive, as well as delays with planning and other approvals could hamper development of projects. --Paul Whitehead, paul_whitehead@platts.com

Source: http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/ElectricPower/8137539