Homeowners looking to switch gas and electricity companies could be encouraged by news of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology tests in Fife.
Scottish Power is testing a £1 million prototype at Longannet Power Station and if the technology is successful in capturing the carbon emissions produced by the plant, it could lead the way for further fossil fuel power stations to be built with fewer environmental concerns.
Carbon capture involves taking harmful greenhouse gases and storing them in vast underground facilities, rather than releasing them into the atmosphere where they contribute to climate change.
Nick Horler, chief executive of ScottishPower, said: "This is the first time CCS technology has been switched on and working at an operational coal-fired power station in the UK, and is a major step forward in delivering the reality of carbon-free fossil fuel electricity generation."
He added that applying the technology in a commercial environment is particularly significant.
The Scottish government has been criticised recently for refusing to consider nuclear power as a potential energy source alongside renewable methods such as wind farms.
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