The North London Waste Authority is aiming to install carbon capture and storage facilities in Edmonton by the mid-2030s – but MPs have called the technology ‘unproven’, reports Marco Marcelline

The North London Waste Authority (NLWA) has said it remains committed to utilising carbon capture technology amid parliamentary concern about its efficacy.

The taxpayer-funded authority is aiming to install carbon capture and storage facilities at Edmonton Eco Park, where it is building a new incinerator, by the mid-2030s.

The technology, which sees the capture and storage underground of carbon before it is released into the atmosphere, is viewed by the government as essential to its legally-mandated net zero by 2050 goals.

The NLWA is set to spend £490,000 on its upcoming outline business case for on-site carbon capture and storage (CCS), and a total of up to £10million on investigating Edomonton Eco Park’s potential for the technology. 

The waste authority views carbon capture as the “only viable solution” to fully decarbonise energy-from-waste (EfW) incinerators.

However, a parliamentary report, published on Friday (7th), called carbon capture technology “unproven” and “high-risk”. 

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report cites recent scientific evidence that producing liquid natural gas, which will be used to run several CCS projects, “leaks more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than previously thought”.

The PAC report also found that CCS “may not capture as much carbon as expected”, adding that the government’s expectations for its performance are “far from guaranteed”. 

So far, the NLWA has identified amines or hot potassium carbonate solvents as the “most promising” options for carbon capture.

In 2018, the UK government said it aims to establish CCS in geographical clusters and set a target of capturing and storing 20–30 million tonnes of carbon per year by 2030. In December 2024, it concluded that this target was not achievable but has not yet set revised goals.

The first two clusters to receive £22bn in government support are HyNet, covering Merseyside and North Wales, and East Coast, covering Teesside and Humberside. 

NLWA is eyeing the feasibility of transporting and storing carbon dioxide from the south-east and the Thames Estuary in the Hewett depleted gas field, in the North Sea. 

An NLWA spokesperson told the Echo it “welcomed” the PAC’s report on carbon capture, adding: “The committee is right to caution that the government is falling short of its targets, despite the positive commitment to progress the first two industrial clusters.”

The spokesperson continued: “It is also important to recognise that delaying carbon capture investment could result in even greater costs for consumers over time due to rising carbon prices under the UK emissions trading scheme.

“CCS is widely recognised as the only viable solution to fully decarbonise energy-from-waste (EfW) plants. The new energy recovery facility [incinerator] at Edmonton Eco Park is designed to operate well beyond 2050, and NLWA is committed to finding a viable CCS solution.”

Conservative MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, and PAC chair, said: “[The] government is gambling on carbon capture technology becoming foundational to achieving net zero… As we are currently in the foothills of [carbon capture tech] development into a fully functioning industry, the government must remain alive to recent scientific evidence to adapt its approach. All early progress will be underwritten by taxpayers, who currently do not stand to benefit if these projects are successful.”

Find out more about the NLWA’s carbon capture and storage plans here, and read the PAC’s report here

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