British court dismisses lawsuit against zero-gas power plant

The High Court in London on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit alleging that a planned gas-fired power plant with carbon capture had been unlawfully approved by the government.

Net Zero Teesside Power (NZT Power) is a joint venture between major international oil companies UK and Equinor and could generate up to 860 megawatts (MW) of flexible, on-demand, low-carbon electricity, equivalent to the average electricity needs of around 1.3 million UK homes. The project is set to be the first fully integrated gas-fired power station with carbon capture and will be a key driver behind plans to make Teesside the UK’s first decarbonised industrial cluster, the companies said.

The approval for the power plant was challenged by climate activist Andrew Boswell, who is campaigning against the “false Net Zero project”.

“I am challenging the £4 billion Net Zero Teesside Power (NZTP) joint venture between fossil fuel giants BP and Equinor because my forensic review of carbon footprint calculations shows that this power station and other proposed similar power stations are incompatible with meeting the UK’s carbon budgets and international climate commitments,” Boswell said.

According to the activist, the legal dispute “also raises questions about the carbon fraud in the UK government’s Carbon Capture Usage and Storage (CCUS) programme and the follow-on developments that build on it, such as blue hydrogen production and increased LNG imports.”

After hearing the case, Judge Nathalie Lieven of the High Court in London dismissed the claim, writing in her ruling on Wednesday: “The project was strongly supported by national policy, both planning and energy policy.”

BP, one of the project partners, welcomed the court’s decision, and a spokesman said in a statement carried by Reuters:

“This project will help the UK Government achieve its net zero targets by sequestering carbon emissions, while helping to maintain energy security by providing on-demand, low-carbon electricity to support renewable energy.”

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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