The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) launched the UK’s first-ever carbon storage licensing round in June 2022, with applications closing in September. Twenty licences have now been offered for award covering a total area of around 12,000 square kilometres. These are in addition to the six CO₂ appraisal and storage licences already on the UK Continental Shelf.

Existing licenses. Image published by North Sea Transition Authority https://www.nstauthority.co.uk/the-move-to-net-zero/carbon-capture-and-storage/

A Carbon Storage Licence allows developers to appraise sites for storage, with an NSTA permit. A lease from The Crown Estate/Crown Estate Scotland is subsequently required before storage activity can properly begin. The award of a Carbon Storage licence does not affect the existing rights of other seabed users such as wind farm developers.

Once the new storage sites are in operation – and in some cases first injection could come in as little as six years – they could make a significant contribution to the aim of storing up to 30 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂₎ per year by 2030, approximately 10% of total UK annual emissions, which were 341.5 million tonnes in 2021.

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