Emissions may be stored under sea

Parts of the sea-bed between Northern Ireland and Scotland could become a storage facility for carbon dioxide, according to a new study.

A cross-border survey has been investigating the potential for underground carbon capture and storage.

Geologists from Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain have worked with economists and engineers to assess locations where CO2 could be stored safely underground.

By capturing carbon from power stations and storing it underground the amount of CO2 being pumped into the atmosphere could be reduced.

The captured emissions could be transported by pipeline and injected into rocks deep below the surface and stored there for thousands of years.

It is European Union policy to promote carbon capture storage technology through a series of demonstration projects and the UK government is expected to make an announcement of a pilot project later this year.

Economy Minister Arlene Foster said there were targets to reduce CO2 emissions.

"Electricity generation from renewable or low-carbon sources, such as wind, wave, tidal and geothermal, will assist in this reduction," she said.

"However, fossil fuels such as gas, oil and coal, which emit high levels of CO2, will remain important components of our energy supply for years to come."

Garth Earls, Director of the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland, said this study was an important first step.

"Results of the study suggest there are potential areas that can be considered for follow-up research, including a number of off-shore sedimentary basins between Northern Ireland and Scotland," he said.

"Further investigation of these areas is needed however, in order to determine if they could be used to safely store CO2."