Appeal against gas power station dismissed

An appeal against the decision to approve a new gas power station has been lost.

Environmental consultant Andrew Boswell appealed a High Court decision after arguing against the green credentials of Net Zero Teesside, which is planning to use carbon-capture technology at the station.

The case was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on Thursday, with Dr Boswell saying the ruling proved climate laws were "broken".

The project's developers said they were "pleased" with the decision. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) declined to comment.

In March, Dr Boswell's legal representatives had argued the government did not fully explore the environmental impacts of the scheme before approving it.

DESNZ said it had acknowledged the "significant" greenhouse gas emissions the scheme would cause before any decision was made.

Barrister Rose Grogan, for DESNZ, had told the court: "Fossil fuel remains part of the government's energy mix.

"It's part of the transition to a low-carbon economy... but it needs to be low carbon through the deployment of CCS [carbon capture and storage]."

The plant, which is planned for the Teesworks site, near Redcar, is being developed by a firm called Net Zero Teesside Power – owned by BP and Equinor.

The company previously stated the project could generate up to 860MW of low-carbon electricity.

It has claimed at least 90% of the gas power station's emissions would be captured and funnelled beneath the North Sea.

In its judgement, the court said its task was simply to determine whether or not the decision-making process surrounding the power plant was lawful.

It said the "evaluation" and "acceptability" of the estimated emissions caused by the plant was a "matter of fact and judgement for the decision-maker".

The government had made "lawful and properly reasoned conclusions" regarding the plant's potential greenhouse gas emissions, the court said.

Net Zero Teesside Power said: "[We] welcome this second judicial confirmation that there is no merit in Andrew Boswell's challenge."

Dr Boswell called for the government to launch a scientific review into the use of carbon capture and storage technology (CCS) for gas power plants.

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