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19 November 2004 - Mitsui Babcock has called on the UK Government to commit to investing in carbon abatement solutions to rectify what it called the "security of energy supply and carbon emissions predicament."
Speaking in London on 18 November, Iain Miller, chief operating officer of Mitsui Babcock, said, "Worldwide, there is a growing need for greater power supply and therefore a corresponding year on year rise in carbon emissions."
Miller also pointed out that while countries and industries face tougher emissions reductions targets, the demand for oil and gas is continuing to rise and prices are being pushed even higher with the climate of geopolitical instability.
Mitsui Babcock called for the UK Government to take the lead in ensuring that the UK has a balanced energy portfolio that includes nuclear, gas, renewables and coal. While current plans will see coal continue to be a critical source of power in the medium term, it currently provides a third of the UK's electricity, Mitsui Babcock fear that it has been ignored since the introduction of the energy white paper last year.
At the London press briefing, Mitsui Babcock outlined an action plan to accelerate progress that will achieve the goal of meeting carbon emissions while enhancing security of supply. The action plan includes appeals for the government to increase its investment in cleaner coal research development and demonstration, and acknowledge that clean coal technologies offer the best complement to renewable energy plans.
Miller said, "The UK's fleet of coal and nuclear plants in ageing and many are set to close. The cost of installing clean coal technology across the coal fired fleet could be achieved at almost half the cost of achieving equivalent reductions using renewable sources."
Presented at the briefing was Mitsui Babcock's 'supercritical' clean coal technology, a solution it said reduces emissions by 20 per cent and in doing so, meets current UK emissions reduction target levels. They added that further reductions could be achieved through the complimentary introduction of biomass fuels.
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