Tories Waste Three Years to Re-Identify Peterhead as Prime CCS Location

UK Government Cannot be Trusted to Deliver for North-East
Banffshire and Buchan Coast MSP Stewart Stevenson has criticised the UK government for scrapping a proposed £1 billion Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) scheme at Peterhead in 2015 – only to reidentify the site as a key region for the technology this week.

Then-Chancellor George Osborne announced £1billion of potential funding had been axed in 2015, costing jobs and investment in Peterhead, where the power station had been earmarked as a potential site for CCS. A new report by the Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage Task Force (CCUS), has described the region as having “unique potential” for the project due to its links with the oil and gas industry – which was clear for all to see in 2015.

SNP MSP Stewart Stevenson has now demanded that the UK government quits stalling and gets on and delivers.

Commenting, Stewart Stevenson said:

“It has taken the UK Government three years to reaffirm what they already knew about the opportunity from CCS.

“In 2015, then-Chancellor George Osborne scrapped funding which could have transformed energy in Scotland and beyond and brought hundreds of jobs to Peterhead.

“There are already a number of projects in place including the Acorn Demonstrator Project at St Fergus.

“I am pleased the government has set up a taskforce and is now reconsidering its options but this is a complete waste of money and time given that the benefits were for all to see three years ago.

“We’ve had enough stalling – the UK government must now get on with delivering the project at Peterhead.”