Jan 04 - Daily Mail; London (UK)

Plans to build a 'green' Pounds 1bn coal-fired power station in Kent could be the last chance for coal to prove it is a viable long- term energy source, according to German energy giant E.ON.

The Powergen owner was yesterday given the green light by Medway Council to build Britain's first coal power station for nearly 30 years.

It will replace an existing plant at Kingsnorth in Rochester, but E.ON insists it will be much cleaner and more efficient than any others in Britain.

E.ON reckons the station will produce enough energy to supply 1.5m homes and lead to a cut in carbon emissions of almost 2m tons a year.

The group plans to fit it with all the relevant pipe work to make it 'carbon capture ready'.

Power groups, such as E.ON and Scottish & Southern Energy, are exploring the possibility of pumping damaging carbon emissions from their stations through pipes into redundant oil and gas fields sitting under the North Sea.

This technique of dealing with harmful gas emissions has been proven to work in small-scale testing, but is totally unproven at larger industrial levels.

An E.ON spokesman believes Kingsnorth could prove to be the test bed project for the industry.

If the group can make carbon capture technology work on this scale, the spokesman reckons it could transform the industry and dramatically cut global carbon emissions.

He added: 'If Kingsnorth is the first test bed for that, people will then ask why aren't China and India doing it.

'From a global point of view, it would send a message to both countries. Coal will only have a future if we can get it to work.' Medway's green light for E.ON's coal-fired power station comes ahead of next week's results from the government's consultation into the potential benefits of nuclear power.

Gordon Brown's administration is currently scratching around for a solution to Britain's long-term energy needs.

It faces a situation where gas reserves are running low and the country is becoming increasingly reliant on imported Russian gas.

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