Banff and Buchan MP Eilidh Whiteford today (Wednesday) hailed the announcement of a new joint development agreement between Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) and Shell UK Limited for the development of the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project at SSE's gas-fired power station in Peterhead.
Questioning the Secretary of State for Scotland in parliament, Dr Whiteford demanded assurances that the UK Government will commit to the project, highlighting the failure of the previous Labour Government to support earlier an earlier project – and the more recent decision of the current Coalition Government to torpedo development of a Carbon Capture and Storage plant at Longannet.
Dr Whiteford said:
“This is great news for Peterhead and excellent news for Scotland’s renewable sector given we have some of Europe’s largest carbon storage reserves in our North Sea oil and gas fields combined with the expertise on how to access them.
“SSE are to be commended for their continuing commitment to carbon capture at Peterhead, and this project has huge environmental potential of international significance, and must be embraced by the government. This has been a key campaign for the SNP, and Alex Salmond, as First Minister and as the former local MP, battled to bring the development of carbon capture to the area.
“This project would put Peterhead at the cutting-edge of carbon capture technology. The UK Government must now recognise the very strong case which exists for this project going ahead and the investment it will bring to Peterhead.
“People have not forgotten that Peterhead could already have been three years ahead of where it is now had the last Labour Government not decided to pull back from its support for the previous carbon capture project.”