The Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey announced have announced a deal with Shell today which could generate enough clean energy to power half a million homes, and capture 1 million tonnes of CO2 each year.

They made the announcement on a visit to Peterhead Power Station today along with Secretary of State for Scotland Alistair Carmichael.

This multi-million pound project is the first of its kind in the world. The signing of the deal is for the first stage of a project to retrofit the gas-fired power plant with carbon capture and storage technology.

The Peterhead project is the second of 2 projects to be funded under the UK's CCS competition marking a significant milestone for the programme. Over the next 2 years, the government is investing around £100 million from its £1 billion CCS budget, with additional industry investment, to plan, design and engineer the UK’s first 2 CCS projects.

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Along with the White Rose CCS Project in Yorkshire, the projects will be supported by around £100 million of government money and are worth 2,000 jobs including construction, and technical and operational jobs.

Peterhead will be the first gas plant in the world to capture carbon dioxide on an industrial scale and pipe it under the sea where it can be stored safely. This means the plant can produce clean energy.

Mr Clegg, said: "The innovation of the UK's energy industry is something we should be really proud of and the fact that we are a world leader in carbon capture and storage is a great example of our country's ingenuity.

"Today's multi-million pound deal with Shell will help to safeguard thousands of jobs and power half a million homes with clean electricity.

"It shows we can build a stronger economy and do it fairly by protecting our environment for future generations."

(CD)