Carbon capture and storage technology will not be mandatory

Carbon capture and storage technology (CCS) will not be mandatory for fossil fuel power plants in the EU. It will, however, be promoted by treating stored emissions as though they were “not emitted” in the ETSⁱ. CCS plant operators will, therefore, avoid the cost of buying carbon allowances. Furthermore, a series of planned demonstration plants will be funded through the revenue collected from 300 million ETS allowances, and new combustion plants with a capacity of at least 300 megawatts will have to include enough space for the installation of carbon capture equipment.

It should also be stressed that “safe capture and geological storage of CO2, in particular from solid fossil power stations and a range of industrial sectors and sub-sectors” has been included in the measures to which 50% of the revenues of auctioning shall be applied.