Keadby 3 becomes first UK carbon capture power station to win planning permission

LONDON (Reuters) - Keadby 3 Carbon Capture Power Station in northern England has become the UK's first carbon capture and storage (CCS) project to receive planning permission.

The project is backed by Britain's SSE Thermal, part of SSE, and Norwegian energy company Equinor.

The proposed plant in north Lincolnshire has received a Development Consent Order following an extensive period of consultation, SSE said in a statement on its website on Thursday.

Keadby 3 would have a generating capacity of up to 910 megawatt (MW) and can capture up to one and a half million tonnes of CO2 a year, which represents at least 5% of the UK government’s 2030 target, according to SSE.

The power station could be operational as early as 2027.

"This news is a significant milestone for our joint ambition to deliver clean, flexible and efficient power to support intermittent renewable generation and maintain security of supply," said Grete Tveit, senior vice president for low carbon solutions at Equinor.

SSE Thermal and Equinor are also collaborating on building Peterhead Carbon Capture Power Station in the northeast of Scotland. They are also developing Keadby Hydrogen Power Station and Aldbrough Hydrogen Storage.

(Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; editing by Jason Neely and Susan Fenton)