New Energy Minister fails to commit to carbon capture in Scotland

Tuesday, 21 September 2021 16:36

The new Tory Energy Minister, Greg Hands, today failed to confirm that the North East of Scotland would become home to at least one of two promised Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) clusters by the mid 2020s. In response to Stephen Flynn MP's question on this in the House of Commons, Mr Hands stated it would be a ‘competitive process’ - raising concerns that the Acorn Project in Aberdeenshire may be overlooked in favour of CCUS sites in the North of England....Request free trial

In response to Stephen Flynn MP's question on this in the House of Commons, Mr Hands stated it would be a ‘competitive process’ - raising concerns that the Acorn Project in Aberdeenshire may be overlooked in favour of CCUS sites in the North of England.

The UK Government’s Energy Transition Deal states that:

“The [UK] government will establish a process to sequence the deployment of CCUS clusters, with the potential for CCUS in two industrial clusters by the mid-2020s subject to value for money and affordability considerations, and aim for four clusters by 2030.”

In 2015, the Tory Government withdrew £1 billion of funding for Peterhead for a similar project, which would have secured hundreds of jobs for the surrounding area.

The SNP has said the North East of Scotland is uniquely placed to capitalise on CCUS technology and the Aberdeen South MP and the SNP's BEIS spokesperson, Stephen Flynn, has continually pressed the UK Government on this matter.

Commenting, Mr Flynn said:

“We might have a new Tory Energy Minister but it's still the same old story – either they want to see the Acorn project delivered or they don’t, it’s really that simple.

“Six years ago the Tories weaselled out of funding carbon capture technology in Peterhead and we can’t afford to head down the very same path – the Acorn project must be at the forefront of our net zero ambitions.

“There should really be no debate over the North East becoming home to at least one CCUS cluster given we are the region that is home to the energy industry - but the Tories continue to drag their heels.

“Aberdeen and the wider North East must be at the very forefront of the push to net-zero, and we should be first line for investment. We should not be in the situation where we are having to argue for carbon capture technology over English sites.

“If the Tories fail to guarantee a carbon-capture and storage cluster at the Acorn site, they are putting the North East in grave peril and making our journey to net zero almost impossible.”