Ambivalence, naturalness and normality in public perceptions of carbon capture and storage in biomass, fossil energy, and industrial applications in the United Kingdom

Carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) is a promising yet controversial climate change mitigation technology. While numerous studies have addressed perceptions of CCS in fossil energy applications, less attention has been paid to how other applications of the technology may be viewed by lay groups. This article reports on findings from a twoday deliberative focus group held near Drax power station; a coal-biomass co-firing power plant in the north of England. In so doing we adopt a broad, psycho-socially inspired conception of perceived naturalness in order to explore how perceptions of CCS in biomass, fossil fuel, and industrial applications are formed in the context of a range of potential technologies for supporting low carbon energy system transitions. In particular, we explore how perceptions of naturalness and interdependency shaped perceptions of different CCS applications. Our analysis illustrates how perceptions of CCS as threatening, uncanny disruptions to natural systems may shift when re-contextualised to include concerns relating to the intermittency of renewable energy, or be ameliorated through perceptions of industrial and bioenergy applications as supporting natural and economic interdependencies.