National Marine Plan - A Summary of Objectives and Policies

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)

Objectives and policies for this sector should be read subject to those set out in the General Policies and Strategic Objectives. It is recognised that not all of the objectives can necessarily be achieved directly through the marine planning system, but they are considered important context for planning and decision making.

Objectives
1	Safe, cost-effective, and timely deployment of Carbon Capture and Storage ( CCS), assisting the delivery of Scotland's climate change objectives and positioning the North Sea as Europe's principal hub for surplus CO2 storage, servicing electricity generators and heavy industry from sources throughout Europe.
2	CCS available as a realistic low carbon deployment option for electricity generation in advance of 2020, and support the decarbonisation of electricity generation by 2030, without affecting the security of supply.
3	Scotland at the forefront of the development and deployment of CCS technology, putting in place successful commercialisation projects, which promote the utilisation of existing infrastructure.
4	To further develop CCS technology as a potential source of large scale CO2 supply for use in Enhanced Oil Recovery processes in the North Sea.
5	Initiate an Environmental Assessment, with relevant agencies, to allow early consideration of the environmental issues with deployment of CCS.

Marine planning policies

CCS 1: CCS commercialisation projects or developments should be supported through an alignment of marine and terrestrial planning processes, particularly where proposals allow timely deployment of CCS to re-use suitable existing redundant oil and gas infrastructure.

CCS 2: Consideration should be given to the development of marine utility corridors which will allow CCS to capitalise, where possible, on current infrastructure in the North Sea, including shared use of spatial corridors and pipelines.

Regional policy: Regional marine plans should consider the potential for CCS commercialisation within their area, particularly in light of the expected future activity set out in NPF3. <applies to inshore waters>