Sunday 26 April 2009

Go-ahead for carbon-capture power stations


Confession before we start this one. I really don't know much about this at all but I think it is something we are going to be hearing a lot in the future. Better get learning! Four new coal plants could be built before 2020 and their emissions reduced. Apparently each new power station must be fitted with technology to trap / store their carbon dioxide underground. Does this make them safe /better? I'm not sure and very suspicious. It has the potential to cut the CO2 output from a power station by up to 90 per cent. In 2008 coal power stations provided 31 per cent of the UK's electricity, with around a third of the coal coming from the UK. A lot of the coal though comes from other countries like Russia and Britain doesn't want to rely on other countries too much for this. (Can you work out why? ) Britain though has lots of coal left under the ground and perhaps we need to use it to stop relying on foreign nations. Ayrshire could play an important role in this in the future. Think of the huge opencast mines we have already in Ayrshire. Will this mean more jobs here? But what about the pollution? This 90% redection is only theoretical and what happens if it doesn't work properly? Will we end up in the position when we get jobs at the price of pollution? Read the complete articles on this from the Independent here and here.

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