Banff & Buchan MP Dr Eilidh Whiteford has pressed Secretary of State for
Energy & Climate Change Ed Davey in the House of Commons yesterday (Monday)
on progress on support for the world-leading carbon capture project planned for
Peterhead.
Dr Whiteford was speaking during a debate on
Jobs and the Low Carbon Economy. She
said:
“I am glad that carbon capture and storage has been
mentioned as I have a constituency interest in gas carbon capture and storage
at Peterhead, which provides a classic example of an opportunity missed in
recent years.
“Will the Secretary of State take the opportunity
today to set out a clear timetable for that technology? Personally, I believe that gas is a really
flexible technology that will help balance the intermittency, so when can we
expect an announcement?”
In
response, the Secretary of State said the UK Government would make an
announcement “soon”.
Commenting
afterwards, Dr Whiteford said:
"We now need to ensure that the last
government's mistakes are not repeated and this project goes ahead on track.
"Scottish and Southern Energy are to be
commended for their continuing commitment to carbon capture and this project
has huge environmental potential, and must be embraced by the government.
"This project will 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.
"The Scottish Government is doing everything
it can to make Scotland the clean, green powerhouse of Europe - but the UK
government has a record of holding Scotland back from achieving our full green
energy potential in all areas.
"Instead of Westminster's
bungling, the Scottish Parliament needs to gain responsibility for all energy
issues in Scotland."