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16 | 27Th March - 2nd aprIL 2015 | UTILITY WEEK Finance & Investment Market view D eveloping, commercialising and inte- grating technologies and solutions that are already known, but under- developed, can help the UK move to a cost- effective low-carbon energy system over the next 35 years. Analysis by ETI shows that although there is not one single technology answer, if we do not include bioenergy or carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the energy mix it will at least double the cost of delivering our 2050 cli- mate change targets and meeting our future energy demands, from around 1 per cent of GDP to 2 per cent. Put another way, the value of bioenergy and CCS to the energy system is £200 billion each, and if neither are developed it is diffi- cult to see how the UK will be able to meet its climate change targets cost effectively. Significant policy intervention will be needed to support these technologies, along with new nuclear, offshore wind and heat networks. Most of these technologies need developing, demonstrating and bringing through to full commercialisation, in order to be ready for deployment in the late 2020s or early 2030s. This tight timeline highlights why decisions taken over the next decade are so important. CCS must be central to any national strat- egy for meeting carbon targets cost effectively because it enables flexible, low-carbon elec- tricity generation, supports renewables and cuts emissions from industrial processes. Bioenergy combined with CCS remains the only credible route to deliver "negative emissions" cost effectively and at the scale required. Negative emissions refer to the net removal of CO2 from the atmosphere across the full lifecycle: growing biomass actively removes carbon from the atmosphere and stores it in both plant matter and the soil as it grows. When the biomass is then har- vested and converted into energy, the emit- ted carbon can be simultaneously captured at the conversion plant and stored securely offshore in depleted oil and gas reservoirs or saline aquifers. This combination of bioenergy with CCS enables the lifecycle to become carbon nega- tive, ultimately creating headroom in the emissions budget and reducing the need for expensive abatement measures in harder to decarbonise sectors such as transport, avia- tion and shipping. Deployed effectively, bioenergy has the potential to help secure UK energy supplies, mitigate climate change, and create signifi- cant green growth opportunities. It is also one of the most scalable, cost-effective and flexible energy conversion pathways around because it can be used to generate power, heat, gaseous or liquid fuels, and more oen than not, use existing infrastructure. In addition to the critical role of deliver- ing negative emissions, biomass and waste could provide a significant amount of low- carbon energy in the future UK energy sys- tem. Significantly, these routes could deliver more than 50 million tonnes of carbon sav- ings a year in 2050 – equivalent to 50 per cent of our allowable emissions in that year. To ensure only routes or pathways that deliver genuine carbon savings are sup- ported, as highlighted in the government's Biomass+CCS is the big win The UK can implement an affordable transition to a low-carbon energy system by 2050 but the decisions taken in the next decade will be critical, says Geraldine Newton-Cross. Minor production Scale indicator Major produciton Thames CCS 2nd largest Thames CCS is Thames Bacton CCS Bacton CCS Teesside CCS Teesside CCS Peterhead CCS Peterhead CCS SRC - short rotation coppice MISC - Miscanthus Distributed gas+H 2 +CCS Gas+H 2 +CCS Bio CCGT+CCS Waste SRC - short rotation coppice SRC - short rotation coppice and pelletising MISC - Miscanthus LRF - long rotation forestry Gas+H 2 +CCS Bio power+CCS Distributed bio power+CCS SRC-W pelletts With imports Without imports LocationaL PreFerences For bioenergy Production with ccs Barrow CCS Barrow CCS Easington CCS largest Easington CCS largest