http://m.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2422789/co2-stored-database-to-be-offered-free-to-carbon-capture-developers
CO2 Stored database to be offered free to carbon capture developers BY BUSINESSGREEN STAFF INFRASTRUCTURE 20 AUGUST 2015 The Crown Estate and the British Geological Survey to offer free, licensed access to its carbon storage database The UK's embryonic carbon capture and storage (CCS) sector received a boost today after the Crown Estate and the British Geological Survey (BGS) announced they are to allow researchers to access a crucial database of potential carbon storage sites free of charge. The CO2 Stored web-enabled database is under licence from the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) and is hosted and managed by the Crown Estate and the BGS. Previously a typical licence for accessing the database cost up to £4,000 per user, but the groups today announced it will be made free to access to all users. Related articles The website, which has also been revamped to make it easier for users to navigate the data, features in-depth information on geological data, as well as storage estimates and risk assessments for nearly 600 potential CO2 storage units found in depleted oil and gas reservoirs, and saline aquifers around the UK. Dr Ward Goldthorpe, programme manager CCS and gas storage at the Crown Estate, said the move was designed to better support the UK's nascent CCS sector. "As an active manager of the UK seabed, we are committed to unlocking value from this natural asset, including working with industry to develop the emerging carbon capture storage sector on the path to commercialisation," he said. "As part of this, we are investing alongside the British Geological Survey to ensure the CO2 Stored website and database provides researchers, industry and other interested bodies with the best available knowledge, and supports the UK's transition to a low-carbon economy over the long term." The combination of fossil fuel power stations and industrial hubs along the east coast of the North Sea and potentially abundant carbon storage sites under the North Sea is one of the reasons the government is keen to develop a CCS industry in the UK. A number of projects in North East England and Scotland are being pursued, but the government has faced criticism for failing to award up to £1bn of long-promised demonstration funding, which industry insiders insist is needed to kick-start the sector. Robert Gatliff, director for energy and marine geoscience at the BGS, said opening up the database would move the industry another step forward. "The North Sea has the potential to develop into a major global hub for this new decarbonising technique," he said in a statement. "The release of this database is another step towards trials and commercial storage of CO2 as a contribution to tackling the effects of burning fossil fuels." -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "geoengineering" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
