Two Scottish bidders have been shortlisted for the next phase of a £1 billion carbon capture and storage competition.
Projects at Grangemouth and Peterhead are among four schemes across the UK selected from eight bids.
UK Energy Secretary Ed Davey said: "The projects we have chosen to take forward have all shown that they have the potential to kick-start the creation of a new carbon capture and storage (CCS) industry in the UK, but further discussions are needed to ensure we deliver value for money for taxpayers.
"Today's announcement is an important step towards an exciting new industry, one that could help us reduce our carbon emissions and create thousands of jobs.
"We have one of the best offers in the world and are a leading country in Europe. We will remain in close contact with the European Commission in the coming months as they take their decisions on which projects to support with European funding."
The technology aims to allow the safe removal and storage of harmful carbon emissions from coal and gas plants. The British Government wants to deliver a cost-competitive CCS industry in the 2020s.
The Grangemouth bid, called the Captain Clean Energy Project, proposes a new system with storage in offshore depleted gas fields.
In Peterhead, a proposal was made for a retrofitted post-combustion capture system as part of the existing power station. Other shortlisted bids were the White Rose Project at the Drax site in North Yorkshire and the Teesside Low Carbon Project, both in England.
Dr Sam Gardner, senior climate change policy officer at environmental organisation WWF Scotland, said: "It is good news that the Peterhead CCS proposal has made the shortlist. Demonstrating carbon capture on this existing gas power station enables us to develop the technology and cut emissions from our energy sector whilst we transition to a renewable future.
"While the Grangemouth scheme has the potential to develop CCS technology for use with the heavy industry located there, it would still mean the construction of an additional fossil fuel power station. In addition, the developer has raised the prospect of using captured carbon dioxide to pump out more oil from the North Sea, something that would actually lead to additional carbon emissions."
