Some EU Nations Are ‘No Go’ for Carbon Capture, RWE Says

June 2, 2011

Some nations are now “no go” for carbon capture and storage plants as governments grapple with regulations and environmental groups challenge construction projects, said an executive from RWE AG. (RWE)

Italy, the Netherlands and Denmark are among nations that need to provide more clarity for project developers in order to win investment, John McElroy, director for policy at RWE Npower, said today at the Carbon Expo conference in Barcelona.

“Certain member states are no-go areas,” McElroy told delegates. “It’s disappointing we haven’t got to grips with that even though we’ve been discussing it for 10 years.”

A project in Italy challenged by organizations including environmental group WWF makes that market difficult, while Germany needs to sort out its laws governing capture and transport of carbon dioxide, the executive said.

WWF challenged the Italian project because it was a conversion to coal from oil, not because the group was against so-called CCS, said Eric Drosin, a Brussels-based spokesman for the Zero Emissions Program, a lobby whose members include Enel SpA (ENEL) and BP Plc.

“Germany’s decision to phase out nuclear more rapidly increases its need and urgency to allow CCS to develop,” Drosin said today in an interview in Barcelona.

To contact the reporters on this story: Mathew Carr in Barcelona at m.carr@bloomberg.net