A FORTHCOMING carbon storage facility in Barrow could pump nearly £2 billion into the economy, according to a report.

Spirit's Energy's plan to turn Rampside Gas Terminals and gas fields into a carbon storage cluster is estimated to generate a £1.8 billion boost for the economy by 2050 - and support thousands of jobs.

The company says it has partnered with a group of cement and lime producers in the Peak District to permanently store close to four million tonnes of industrial carbon dioxide emissions in the Morecambe Net Zero carbon store each year from 2030. 

According to analysis shared by the company, the project is set to generate the equivalent of £1.8 billion gross value added by 2050, creating and safeguarding more than 13,000 jobs across Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Cumbria, and attracting a further £5 billion of investment in construction and operations.

It will also see a combined annual increase of £154 million in skills uplift and wage increases, the report said.

Spirit Energy – a majority-owned subsidiary of Centrica - has plans to repurpose the depleted Morecambe Bay Gas Fields in Barrow into what is says will be the world-leading MNZ carbon store - offering a long-term decarbonisation solution to critical national industries across the UK’s industrial heartlands.

 

Neil McCulloch, the CEO of Spirit Energy, said: “Carbon capture and storage projects such as MNZ are going to play a pivotal role in delivering net zero in the UK and beyond. 

"MNZ is uniquely well-placed to provide scale in the right place, at the right time, to hit government targets and deliver the CCUS Vision with greater certainty. 

"Our ask is modest and pragmatic policy reforms that can then enable MNZ to drive industrial decarbonisation, growth, new green jobs, and economic opportunities in the UK.”

MP Alex Cunningham, chair of the carbon capture usage and storage all-party parliamentary group said: “The MNZ Peak Cluster partnership is one of the most exciting prospective CCS projects I have seen in my role as Chair of the APPG.

"It is one of the most advanced projects in the UK, offering an opportunity to repurpose one of the UK’s largest gas fields into a world-leading carbon store, accepting carbon from an industry that has been a cornerstone of the Peak District’s economy for centuries.

"Beyond the significant economic benefits of the project, the scale of storage on offer makes the MNZ Peak Cluster a project that will be nationally and internationally significant.”