Public Notice: The Net Zero Teesside Project

28th October 2021

The Planning Act 2008 – Section 56 ‘Notifying persons of accepted application’

The Infrastructure Planning (Applications: Prescribed Forms and Procedure) Regulations 2008 – Regulation 9 ‘Publicising an accepted application’

The Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017 – Regulation 16 ‘Accepted application – publicity and consultation for EIA development’

Notice of acceptance of an application for a Development Consent Order for the proposed Net Zero Teesside Project

Planning Inspectorate Reference: EN010103

The Application

1. Notice is hereby given that the Secretary of State (SoS) for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has accepted an application (the ‘Application’) for a Development Consent Order (a ‘DCO’) made by Net Zero Teesside Power Limited and Net Zero North Sea Storage Limited (the ‘Applicants’), whose registered offices are both Chertsey Road, Sunbury on Thames, Middlesex, TW16 7BP, under Section 31 of The Planning Act 2008 (the ‘PA 2008’). The Application was received by the Planning Inspectorate (who acts on behalf of the SoS) on 19 July 2021 and accepted for examination on 16 August 2021. The reference number assigned to the Application by the Planning Inspectorate is EN010103.

2. The Application is seeking development consent for the construction, operation and maintenance of the Net Zero Teesside Project (the ‘Proposed Development’) on land at and in the vicinity of the former Redcar Steel Works Site, Redcar and in Stockton-on-Tees, Teesside (the ‘Site’).

Summary of the Proposed Development

3. The Proposed Development will be the UK’s first commercial scale, full chain ‘Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage’ project and will initially capture up to 4 million tonnes (Mt) of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per annum. It will comprise a number of elements, including a new low carbon gas-fired electricity generating station with post-combustion carbon capture plant; gas, electricity and water connections (for the generating station); a CO2 pipeline network (a ‘gathering network’) for collecting CO2 from a cluster of local industries on Teesside; a CO2 compressor station (for the compression of the CO2) and a CO2 export pipeline. The CO2 captured from the electricity generating station and local industries will be compressed and then transported (via the transport pipeline) for secure storage within the Endurance saline aquifer located 145 kilometres offshore from Teesside under the North Sea. The export pipeline has the capacity to carry up to 10Mt of CO2 per annum.

3. The Site comprises land at and in the vicinity of the former Redcar Steel Works Site, Redcar and in Stockton-on-Tees on Teesside. The Site lies within the administrative boundaries of both Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council (RCBC) and Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (STBC). It also partly lies within the boundary of the Teesworks area that is controlled by the South Tees Development Corporation (STDC).

4. Most of the Site lies within the administrative area of RCBC, although parts of the Site (the electricity generating station’s gas supply connection to the National Transmission System and the CO2 gathering network) cross the River Tees into the administrative area of STBC. At this location the River Tees is tidal. In addition, there are elements of the Site that extend into South Gare, Coatham Dunes and Sands and the North Sea.

5. The Site extends to approximately 462 hectares in area and includes all of the land required to construct and operate the Proposed Development. Much of the Site comprises previously developed or existing industrial land. Grid references for the Site are provided below:

6. The Proposed Development comprises the following elements:

• Work Number (‘Work No.’) 1 – a Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) electricity generating station with an electrical output of up to 860 megawatts and post- combustion carbon capture plant (‘CCP’) (the ‘Low Carbon Electricity Generating Station’);
• Work No. 2 – natural gas supply connections and Above Ground Installations (AGIs) (the ‘Gas Connection’);
• Work No. 3 – an electricity grid connection (the ‘Electrical Connection’);
• Work No. 4 – water supply connections (the ‘Water Supply Connection Corridor’);
• Work No. 5 – waste water disposal connections (the ‘Water Discharge Connection Corridor’);
• Work No. 6 – a CO2 gathering network (including connections under the tidal River Tees) to collect and transport the captured CO2 from industrial emitters (the industrial emitters using the gathering network will be responsible for consenting their own carbon capture plant and connections to the gathering network) (the ‘CO2 Gathering Network Corridor’);
• Work No. 7 – a high-pressure CO2 compressor station to receive and compress the captured CO2 from the Low Carbon Electricity Generating Station and the CO2 Gathering Network before it is transported offshore (the ‘HP Compressor Station’);
• Work No. 8 – a dense phase CO2 export pipeline for the onward transport of the captured and compressed CO2 to the Endurance saline aquifer under the North Sea (the ‘CO2 Export Pipeline’);
• Work No. 9 – temporary construction and laydown areas, including contractor compounds, construction staff welfare and vehicle parking for use during the construction phase of the Proposed Development (the ‘Laydown Areas’);
• Work No. 10 – access and highway improvement works (the ‘Access and Highway Works’); and
• Ancillary development – required in connection with and subsidiary to the above elements, including surface water drainage systems; electrical, gas, water supply and other utilities connections and works; hard and soft landscaping; biodiversity enhancement measures; security fencing and other means of enclosure; external lighting; gatehouses; site establishment and preparation works; temporary construction laydown areas and contractor facilities; vehicle parking and cycle storage facilities; accesses, roads and pedestrian and cycle routes; tunnelling, boring, piling and drilling works and management of arisings; and any other works as may be necessary in connection with the Proposed Development and which fall within the scope of the works assessed in the Environmental Statement.

7. The Low Carbon Electricity Generating Station, its post-combustion CCP and the HP Compressor Station will be located on part of the STDC Teesworks area (on part of the former Redcar Steel Works Site). The CO2 Export Pipeline will start in this location before heading offshore. The various connections for the Low Carbon Electricity Generating Station and the CO2 Gathering Network will require corridors of land within both Redcar and Stockton-on-Tees, including crossings beneath the River Tees.

8. All of the above elements are included in the scope of the Application, with the exception of the section of CO2 Export Pipeline below Mean Low Water Springs (MLWS). The CO2 Export pipeline below MLWS and the CO2 storage site under the North Sea (the Endurance saline aquifer) will be the subject of separate consent applications, including under the Petroleum Act 1998 and the Energy Act 2008. These applications will be supported by an Offshore Environmental Statement.

9. The Application seeks powers for the compulsory acquisition of land and/or rights in land for the Proposed Development; the extinguishment and/or overriding of easements and other rights over or affecting land required for the Proposed Development; and/or the temporary occupation of land required for the Proposed Development; the application and/or disapplication of legislation relevant to the Proposed Development, as may be required; permanent and temporary changes to the highway and public rights of way network as may be required; tree and hedgerow removal; a deemed marine licence for those parts of the Proposed Development within or affecting the tidal section of the River Tees or other sections of the UK Marine Area; and such ancillary, incidental and consequential works, provisions, permits, consents, waivers or releases as are necessary and/or convenient for the successful construction, operation and maintenance of the Proposed Development.

Environmental Impact Assessment

10. The Proposed Development is an Environmental impact Assessment (‘EIA’) development under ‘The Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017’. The Application therefore includes an Environmental Statement (‘ES’) documenting the findings of the EIA undertaken.

Inspection of the Application Documents

11. The application form and its accompanying documents, drawings, plans and maps (including the draft DCO and the ES) comprising the Application (the ‘Application Documents’) may be inspected free of charge by downloading them either from the Planning Inspectorate’s Website or the Applicants’ Project Website.

12. The Application Documents can be found on the Project Page of the Planning Inspectorate’s Website at: https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/north-east/the-net-zero- teesside-project/?ipcsection=docs

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