Thr SNP has hit out at the UK government after a Scottish carbon capture project was "snubbed" - and says Westminster needs to “put its money where its mouth is” if it wants to help develop the pioneering technology.
The party's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn MP has called for immediate funding for the Acorn project in Aberdeenshire - and has written to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to criticise delays in supporting the scheme.
Acorn involves proposals for carbon capture and storage and hydrogen infrastructure schemes at the St Fergus gas terminal north of Peterhead. It's a project seen as crucial to decarbonising Scottish industry.
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Mr Flynn said the Acorn project was “snubbed” in 2021 in the Track 1 stage of funding for carbon capture sites in favour of sites in England - instead being given “reserve” status.
Writing to Mr Sunak, Mr Flynn said this was a “complete and utter betrayal of our energy sector, our Net Zero ambitions and our corner of the world” and called for funding for the project.
He said: “Given the undoubted importance of hitting Net Zero, and the obvious deliverability of Carbon Capture Utilisation and Underground Storage (CCUS) in the North East, your lack of investment is incomprehensible and it is imperative that funding for Acorn is announced as soon as possible.”
Speaking ahead of a visit to St Fergus on Monday, Mr Flynn said: “The UK government must finally announce funding for the Acorn project, without further delay and stop holding back jobs and investment in the north east.
“Westminster has taken £400bn from Scotland’s natural oil and gas resources, and it’s high time they gave something back.”
He added: “It’s time the Tory government put right the wrongs of the past, and put its money where its mouth is on carbon capture funding."
An HMRC spokesman said: “We are taking significant action to encourage investment in renewable generation, including committing £30 billion to support the domestic green industrial revolution.
“While the initial set of carbon capture clusters has been confirmed, this is by no means the extent of our ambition, and the selection process for the second set of clusters will be set out in due course.”
A UK Government spokesperson added: “We are making the UK a world leader in carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) and are accelerating development of this vital technology, with UK government funding of £1 billion via our Carbon Capture Infrastructure Fund.
“We have committed to establishing two CCUS industrial clusters by the mid-2020s and a further two clusters by 2030. The strong potential of the Aberdeenshire Acorn project has been confirmed by the cluster sequencing process – which is just the start and good news for the future competitiveness of Scotland’s industry.”
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