LYNEMOUTH'S coal-fired power station is a key part of plans to store greenhouse gases under the North Sea.
Regional development agency One North East has published a prospectus for the creation of a Carbon Capture and Storage cluster (CCS).
And proposed conversion work at the Rio Tinto Alcan plant would link with a new power plant on Teesside to ensure
increased productivity would not result in more carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere.
The current power station comprises three 140 megawatt generating units.
It is planned, subject to securing funding, to convert one of the units to CCS technology and as a result increase energy generation by more than 150 per cent.
Carbon emissions would be removed and transported via an under-sea pipeline, which would join the pipeline from a power plant in Eston Grange and a common pipeline would take the CO2 to the North Sea.
It would go to a large permanent storage site already identified, or be used in ageing North Sea oil fields to increase production and extend field lives.
Rio Tinto Alcan's Managing Director Wyn Jones said:
"We are convinced that our site is ideally suited to demonstrate our uniquely innovative approach to CCS, through the advantages of our coastal location, existing infrastructure and our requirement for a continuous supply of electricity."
It is hoped that the CCS cluster would be up and running by 2015 with the potential to expand and capture up to 15million tonnes of CO2 per year, including from buildings such as factories and hospitals.
An independent report commissioned by the Department of Energy and Climate Change indicates clean coal technology could bring between £2billion and £4billion a year into the UK economy by 2030 and support up to 60,000 jobs.
One North East Chief Executive Alan Clarke said: "The development of a Carbon Capture and Storage cluster in the North East could protect thousands of jobs, as well as give the region a longer-term sustainable solution for energy-intensive industries.
"The partnership developing this cluster has the technology, knowledge and political vision to help north east England to lead the world in this field."
