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Underground Coal Gasification. Name John Henderson (Redacted) Job title Senior Advisor, Fuel & Power Date 2/02/2015 DECC UCG Working Group. Overview. EA role in England Planning Environmental Permitting - BAT COMAH & NORM Engagement Next Steps. UCG & Planning.
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Underground Coal Gasification Name John Henderson (Redacted) Job title Senior Advisor, Fuel & Power Date 2/02/2015 DECC UCG Working Group
Overview • EA role in England • Planning • Environmental Permitting - BAT • COMAH & NORM • Engagement • Next Steps
UCG & Planning • Complexity of planning = Costal Concordat MMO, some coastal LPAs & EA signed • Demonstration phase may not require an EIA • Commercial scale will probably require an EIA Sched.1 its not extraction of natural gas, Surface industrial installation extract coal etc > 0.5 hectare Combustion > 300 Mwe Sched.2 – deep drilling
Environmental Permitting • Gasification of coal is an EPR Scheduled activity S 1.2 Part A(1)d. The Stationary Technical Unit (STU) includes above ground, onshore, bore holes & reactor / chamber. • Directly Associated Activities to the STU include • Flares, gas clean up, small combustion units • Effluent treatment, discharges to water • Waste containment & management • No BRef or established BAT for UCG – we do it. • Above ground processes – BAT is defined • BAT for bore holes & gasification is new • COMAH – yes, NORM - probably
Engagement • 2009 - 2013 • EA Limiting Climate Change & UCG – Aug.2010 • B9 Coal, Link Energy, UCG Association • 2013 to date • Operators – Five Quarter & Cluff Energy • UCG Association • Regulators – Sepa & NRW, Coal Authority, HSE • MPs questions & FoIs
Next Steps - UCG • Much depends on operator activity – we have no budget • Continuing watching brief – develop regulatory position • We would like 6 months notice before permit applications arrive • Update EA UCG fact sheet for gov.uk • UCG & CCS – we would like DECC to provide clear policy to ensure low C, clean coal etc.