Longannet carbon capture scheme collapse a hammer blow for Fife economy
First Minister Alex Salmond has described the UK Government's decision to axe Longannet's £1 billion carbon capture programme as a ''lost opportunity.''
Longannet Power Station.
- By Aileen Robertson
- Published in the Courier : 20.10.11
- Published online : 20.10.11 @ 11.11am
Energy Secretary Chris Huhne announced plans to pioneer carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology at the Kincardine coal-fired power station had been scrapped after the Government failed to reach an agreement with ScottishPower's parent company, Iberdrola Group.
The announcement — which it is estimated will cost the Fife economy £272 million a year — had been expected to be confirmed on Thursday, but was brought forward a day after the news was leaked by the SNP.
Mr Salmond said: ''This is a deeply disappointing announcement by the UK Government, and an enormous lost opportunity. It is just as bad a decision as when the previous UK Government abandoned the Peterhead pre-combustion gas carbon capture project four years ago — which the current coalition parties rightly criticised in 2007.''
The First Minister said having missed out in the past, Peterhead was now in the running for future CCS projects, which Mr Huhne said the Government was still committed to.
''We are led to believe that Peterhead is a contender for a future gas carbon capture project, but that was supposed to be the case four years ago,'' Mr Salmond said.
''From Scotland's perspective, history has already repeated itself with the failure to proceed with Longannet, and what guarantees are there that we will not be disappointed yet again? As we now know to our cost twice over, warm words are not enough.''
The First Minister also criticised the UK Government's electricity market reform process, which he said was ''undermining industry confidence.''
CCS has the potential to reduce carbon emissions by 90% and the Longannet project would have boosted the Scottish Government's emissions targets.
Mr Huhne said the £1 billion was still earmarked for CCS and there had been ''a number of promising bids from both Scotland and England.''
Dunfermline SNP MSP Bill Walker said Westminster cuts were to blame.
''Yet again, Scotland is at the mucky end of the stick,'' he said. ''It's just such a short-term decision, with no view to the future. It's a huge blow. We're not talking about hundreds of jobs — this would have created thousands of jobs.''
Fife Council leader Peter Grant said: ''I think the Government has written off Scotland in the same way that Scotland has written off the Government.
''Although we all go into a recession at the same time, Scotland is left behind when the rest of Europe and the world comes out of recession. Parts of Fife and parts of Scotland have never recovered.''
He described the UK Government's commitment to nuclear power as ''absolute insanity.''
He added: ''We are still trying to deal with the legacy of large amounts of long-life, highly hazardous materials that nobody knows how to deal with.''
Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray said: ''David Cameron is washing his hands of Longannet and this is a dagger blow to the people of Fife. The Tories and Lib Dems have triggered this crisis at Longannet by setting a high short-term carbon price. This will now blow a hole in Scotland's ambitious targets.''
Scottish trades union congress assistant secretary Stephen Boyd said: ''The refusal of the coalition to back the Longannet CCS project will have disastrous consequences for Scotland. At a stroke, first mover advantage in a key emerging global industry is lost and with it potentially thousands of quality skilled jobs.''
ScottishPower was the only remaining bidder in a UK Government competition, launched in 2007, for £1 billion to develop CCS. In partnership with the National Grid and Shell UK, ScottishPower planned to use an existing 280km natural gas pipe to pump carbon dioxide to depleted oil and gas fields in the North Sea for storage.
Photo © Andrew Milligan/PA Wire
04.02pm - 20.10.2011 Ed Test - The South, United Kingdom Report This
Given Alex Salmond wants to leave the UK, why should the Wealth Generating South, pay for more subsidy and investment in Scottish based assets? "Wanting his cake and to eat it too!" springs to mind.
08.53pm - 20.10.2011 Stuart Allan - Dundee, Scotland Report This
@Ed Test; as Scotland sends more South than is spent here by W'minster, the term "subsidy" in your post is erroneus. As to the "investment" part of your statement .. as part of the UK, Scotland is just as entitled to UK govt investment as any other part .. it is not a W'minster colonial possession.
09.32pm - 20.10.2011 Eoin Ryan - Glenrothes, Scotland Report This
Mr or Ms 'ED Test' needs to check his maths and dinnie research. It is Scotland who has subsidised the English economy, the illegal wars, the Nuclear weapons, even the Olympics. An independent England will finally have to stand on it's own 2 feet. We keep their weapons time for CCS as a pay back.
07.39am - 21.10.2011 ED - Fife, Scotland Report This
Is this the Rest of the UK looking to the future and making decisions now, essentially leaving it for Salmond to fund? Grant, Walker and Salmond are playingpolitics here as Peterhead remains viable. Who now thinks it was a good idea to vote SNP?
03.25pm - 21.10.2011 Stuart Allan - Dundee, Scotland Report This
According to ED, Scotland is only deserving of its fair share of UK investment IF we sit down, shut up and behave ourselves. Is that the "Union of equals" unionists bang on about? It doesn't sound very equal to me. More like a gun being put to Scotland's head :(
12.12am - 22.10.2011 ED - Fife, Scotland Report This
Stuart, so it is no, no, and thrice no on the SNP going it alone. Unlike its independence agenda which has died a curious verbal death, the SNP aren't taking the reins and going it alone. BTW, whatever happened to Salmond's 'respect' agenda - surely it works both ways?
01.09pm - 22.10.2011 Stuart Allan - Dundee, Scotland Report This
ED, you appear to be indulging in Unionist spin tactics. People like yourself claim the SNP have either gone quiet on Independence OR never stop talking about it depending on circumstance. Scotland's people are more intelligent than Unionists would like. They see through that nonsense every time :)
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