(Updates with details of projects, background)
By Susanna Twidale
LONDON, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Britain has scrapped plans tospend up to 1 billion pounds ($1.5 billion) to helpcommercialise projects that capture carbon dioxide emissionsfrom power plants and store them underground, the governmentsaid on Wednesday.
"Following the Chancellor's Autumn Statement, HM Governmentconfirms that the 1 billion-pound ring-fenced capital budget forthe Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Competition is no longeravailable," the government announced.
Britain has two major CCS schemes, one being developed at anexisting gas-fired plant in Peterhead, Scotland, by Shell and utility SSE.
A second pilot project is being developed at the UK'sbiggest coal-fired power station by the plant operator Drax and engineering consortium Capture Power although Draxsaid in September it would not invest further in the projectonce the feasibility study is completed.
Britain had previously viewed CCS as a vital tool to help itmeet its legally binding target to cut emissions by 80 percenton 1990 levels by 2050.
But so far CCS has generally failed to live up to earlyhopes of wide adoption. After many years of research Canadianutility Saskatchewan Power opened the world's firstcoal-fired power plant retrofitted with CCS last year, butEuropean utilities have struggled. [ID: nL6N0UV3H3] ($1 = 0.6629 pounds) (Reporting By Susanna Twidale; Editing by David Evans, GregMahlich)