UK: Coal power plants ‘must be clean’

Coal-fired power stations must not be built unless they can capture and store CO2, the Environment Agency has warned.

Plants like that proposed at Kingsnorth in Kent could “lock” the UK into high carbon technology, says the agency, whose remit covers England and Wales.

Even if stations can be fitted with clean coal technology at a later stage, that is “insufficient” for them to be approved now, the Agency argues.

The government will make its final decision on Kingsnorth within months.

Opponents fear that if the prime minister approves power company E.On’s bid, it could pave the way for a whole series of similar coal plants.

BBC