Norway commits funding to ROAD

2014-06-30 09:21 by Anja Reitz

- I wish to underline that this is not to be a replacement for the work on full-scale CO2 management in Norway, minister Tord Lien assured commentators. As for any other news on the Norwegian CCS strategy post-Mongstad, the minister was silent.

Director of Bellona Europa, Jonas Helseth is pleased the minister has made this decision to deliver on both Norwegian and European climate efforts.

- The part-financing of ROAD is Norway helping out with some pocket money in order to get one of Europe’s most important CCS projects across the line. Norway pursuing its own national project, both in order to not lose the skills and infrastructure that Mongstad began developing and to deliver on Norwegian climate targets, will be the next good news we expect.

After the funding gap is closed

Norway’s financial contribution will form part of the minimum €40 million that European states will have to provide in order for the EU to release a further €20 million. If states stick to this minimum, the €60 million stands a chance of not being sufficient. ROAD project operators E.ON & GDF Suez have claimed in recent months that €100 to €150 million is needed. Only this week Bellona heard E.ON suggest the latest €130 to €150 million estimate. However, Bellona believes these continuous price inflations may be an attempt at non-delivery of the project on part of these utilities thereby allowing them to continue operating a polluting and unabated newly built coal power plant.

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Source: Bellona Europe, news, 26 June 2014

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