North Wales MS Mark Isherwood has today questioned the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, Rebecca Evans MS, over her engagement with Flintshire industries in relation to the carbon capture undersea storage scheme in the county.
The ambitious HyNet project will be one of the UK’s first carbon capture and storage (CCUS) projects and will see a new pipeline run through Flintshire.
In today’s meeting of the Welsh Parliament, Mr Isherwood said the project will play a critical role in the UK’s transition to ‘net zero’, but was keen to know what engagement the Welsh Government is having with industries in Flintshire over the project.
He said:
“The North-West industrial cluster region stretches from Flintshire and Wrexham, through Cheshire, Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester into Lancashire. The HyNet North West hydrogen and carbon capture project received £72 million in funding from the Conservative UK Government in 2021 to play a critical role in the UK's transition to ‘net zero’, and the announcement that the new UK Government will continue to support this is therefore welcome.
“The project will convert natural gas into low-carbon hydrogen to power industry, fuel transport and generate electricity. So, do you agree with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that Carbon Capture and Storage has a role to play alongside other actions to tackle global emissions?
“And what engagement are you having with Flintshire industries, including Connah's Quay Power Station, Heidelberg Materials Cement works in Padeswood and Parc Adfer Energy-from-Waste facility at Deeside Industrial Park, which propose to transport captured CO2 to permanent offshore storage facilities in repurposed depleted offshore gas fields as part of the HyNet industrial cluster?”
The Cabinet Secretary, Rebecca Evans MS, replied:
“We're very mindful of the fact that the Climate Change Committee and a range of other organisations have said that carbon capture and storage will necessarily be a part of our journey towards net zero, particularly if we are to hit our net-zero targets in a timely manner.
“I would just reassure you that we are having those regular discussions; officials meet regularly with HyNet and the consortium partners to better understand the proposals and to offer our support as appropriate.”