Acorn project funding 'to be announced in spending review'
The Acorn Project based in St Fergus near Peterhead works with industrial, power, hydrogen, bioenergy and waste-to-energy businesses who wish to capture CO2 emissions and send them into permanent geological storage under the North Sea.
There have been growing calls for the project to receive funding.
Just last month, First Minister John Swinney pledged during his second Programme for Government that the Scottish Government would increase the amount of Scottish funding available if the UK Government backs it.
READ MORE: The SNP has long been opposed to nuclear energy. But will that last?
And in the Commons on Tuesday, UK energy minister Sarah Jones told MPs they did not have long to wait with Chancellor Rachel Reeves set to unveil the spending review tomorrow.
"We have always been clear that we support the Acorn project. We know what an important proposal it is. The decision is a matter for a spending review but we are very close to having those decisions,' Jones said.
Details on what exactly will be announced by the UK Government tomorrow are scarce but Scotland's Energy Minister has said that she hopes movement on the project can now happen 'at long last'.
'Scottish Government and industry have long pressured this (and previous) UK governments for the funding to realise the Acorn Carbon Capture project,' she said.
'I look forward to getting details and hope at long last we can get movement on this critical project.'
The local SNP MP for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East Seamus Logan, meanwhile, said: 'I cautiously welcome this long-overdue commitment that funding and full details will finally be announced for Scottish carbon capture at the spending review tomorrow, after years of campaigning by the SNP and the Scottish energy sector.'
He added: 'England has been allocated £22 billion for carbon capture, so I would expect investment in Scotland to be at a commensurate level.
'After decades of broken promises, funding snubs and delays from Westminster - including over the past year - it is essential that adequate funding, full details and a concrete commitment to the project is now delivered by the UK government at pace - and the devil will be in the detail of the announcement, which we will study carefully.'
Not everyone is happy about the potential announcement, however.
Climate campaigners have said that Chancellor Rachel Reeves should not offer any further handouts to the Acorn Project's carbon capture 'greenwashing' scheme in the spending review.
Friends of the Earth Scotland's climate campaigner Alex Lee said: 'Rachel Reeves should not be spending supposedly scarce public money propping up a fossil fuel industry that is ripping us off. Carbon capture is little more than a greenwashing scam whose main success appears to be its lobbying operation.
They added: 'The main beneficiaries of any more subsidy for Acorn will be wealthy oil giants like Shell and Harbour Energy who have shown they do not care about the climate crisis or their workforce in their ruthless pursuit of profit.
'The Acorn project is a fossil fuel polluters pipe dream and will never live up to the hype. Carbon capture technology has already had 50 years of failure so why is it getting such huge funding whilst working climate solutions that can improve people's lives are crying out for investment and political support.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Powys County Times
8 minutes ago
- Powys County Times
Burnham presses Scottish Government on Alexander Dennis factory closure
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has questioned why the Scottish Government has not done more to save jobs at Alexander Dennis. The bus manufacturer announced on Wednesday it is proposing to consolidate its UK operations at a single site in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. The decision puts 400 jobs at risk at its facility in Falkirk in another blow to the Forth Valley, which has already seen more than 400 jobs go at the Grangemouth refinery this year. Following the announcement, Mr Burnham pointed to the purchase of 160 buses from the manufacturer for Greater Manchester's Bee Network, while the Scottish Government ordered 44. The order from the Scottish Government was made as part of the second phase of the green bus initiative ScotZEB. In the first phase, the Government funded the building of 137 buses, according to a press release from the bus firm at the time, meaning a total of 181 have been ordered since 2022. Mr Burnham said: 'Our iconic Bee Network buses are a bit of Scotland right here in Greater Manchester. 'We have over 160 Alexander Dennis buses criss-crossing our city-region every day – connecting our communities to opportunity. 'If Greater Manchester can invest in world-class Scottish bus manufacturing, then why can't the SNP Scottish Government? 'Meeting the ADL (Alexander Dennis) staff in Falkirk who have helped us to make the Bee Network a reality is always a pleasure and my thoughts are with them at this difficult time.' Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said the closure is a result of Holyrood ministers 'once again overlooking Scottish industry', as he pointed to the award of a contract to build ferries being given to a shipyardyard in Turkey. 'Alexander Dennis buses are already serving passengers successfully across Greater Manchester, yet SNP ministers appear unwilling to give their full backing to the company for the benefit of people here,' Mr Sarwar said. 'John Swinney promised this scheme (ScotZEB) would 'open up new economic opportunities', but he has failed to turn those words into action. 'If the First Minister is serious about boosting Scotland's economy and supporting workers, he should start by investing in Scottish workers.'
Rhyl Journal
8 minutes ago
- Rhyl Journal
Labour MPs push front bench for ‘crackdown' on ‘dodgy' vape and barber shops
Melanie Onn said she 'really must press' the Government for long-term action to tackle these shops, which MPs heard had links to tax evasion and money laundering, and Joe Powell said well-known London streets such as Portobello Road and Notting Hill Gate are 'blighted'. Business and trade minister Gareth Thomas told MPs that the National Economic Crime Centre (NECC) had visited almost 400 premises during a three-week operation in March, freezing several bank accounts. Mr Powell, the MP for Kensington and Bayswater, told the Commons: 'Small businesses across my constituency on our high streets from Earls Court Road to Queensway, Notting Hill Gate and Portobello Road are fed up of being blighted by candy shops, low-grade souvenir shops, Harry Potter shops and, yes, even barber shops, with accusations of VAT and business rates evasion, and even links to money laundering and serious organised crime.' He urged Mr Thomas to say 'what steps' the Government is taking 'to crack down on these operations and create a legitimate level playing field for our small businesses'. The minister replied: 'We've been working with colleagues in the Home Office and the National Crime Agency (NCA) to take action to crackdown on illegitimate businesses that threaten to undermine the legitimate ones that are on all of our high streets. 'In March, the NECC co-ordinated a three-week crackdown against barber shops and other cash-intensive businesses where there were concerns, visiting almost 400 premises, securing freezing orders over a series of bank accounts totalling more than £1 million.' In response, Ms Onn said: 'I really do need to press him because my constituents in Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes are equally as fed up as (Mr Powell) of seeing high streets dominated by dodgy vape shops, unlicensed barbers.' She said 'some of them are legitimate' but asked: 'Is he working closely with the Home Office to try and tackle this blight because I think we probably need a national strategy, not a three-week operation?' Mr Thomas said he recognised 'a concern up and down the country' and added the NCA and Home Office 'are seeking to take action against illegitimate business'. He said a Government commitment to bolster police forces with 13,000 extra officers and special constables, backed by an uplift to forces' 'spending power' of 2.3% per year unveiled in Wednesday's spending review, 'will help'. In a viral video, Conservative shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick claimed 'weird Turkish barber shops' were 'chipping away at society', along with fare evasion, when he caught passengers allegedly 'bumping' London Underground ticket barriers on camera. 'The state needs to reassert itself and go after lawbreakers,' he said. Sadiq Khan is driving a proud city into the ground. Lawbreaking is out of control. He's not acting. So, I did.👇 — Robert Jenrick (@RobertJenrick) May 29, 2025 Conservative MP Graham Stuart said that if a book which Labour MP for Central Ayrshire Alan Gemmell is writing were a 'political thriller about fighting for small business', then he was 'sure it features five heroes on the front bench opposite, doing everything they can to promote small business'. Ministers laughed and pointed at Tory MPs when Mr Stuart added: 'Readers will ask 'who is the villain of the piece?'' The Beverley and Holderness MP suggested the villain would be Rachel Reeves, 'the Chancellor of the Exchequer who is doing everything possible to undermine business – 276,000 people having lost work since the autumn statement'. He asked: 'When will the ministers, the heroes of this story, fight against the Chancellor who's getting so much so wrong?' Mr Thomas said: 'It's a little while since I've been called a hero by (Mr Stuart) but I'm glad that I've finally had some recognition from him in that regard. 'I don't think the Chancellor of the Exchequer is a villain at all. 'Indeed, I think the spending review that she announced yesterday will help to unlock investment in our high streets and in our small businesses up and down the country – the record investment in research and development, the record investment in infrastructure, and the additional capacity to the British Business Bank will help to unlock billions of pounds of new investment and many more job opportunities across the country.' Labour former minister Liam Byrne later called for 'a plan to cut industrial energy costs now'. The Commons Business and Trade Committee chairman said: 'As our committee pointed out on Friday, the success of the industrial strategy will depend on a plan to cut industrial energy costs now. 'When the industrial strategy is published, will the Secretary of State reassure us that there will be a plan to ensure that UK energy prices are internationally competitive?' Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds replied: 'The very significant increase in industrial energy prices under the terms of the last government are a significant issue for our competitiveness, and yes, that is something we're seeking to address.'
South Wales Guardian
9 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Burnham presses Scottish Government on Alexander Dennis factory closure
The bus manufacturer announced on Wednesday it is proposing to consolidate its UK operations at a single site in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. The decision puts 400 jobs at risk at its facility in Falkirk in another blow to the Forth Valley, which has already seen more than 400 jobs go at the Grangemouth refinery this year. Following the announcement, Mr Burnham pointed to the purchase of 160 buses from the manufacturer for Greater Manchester's Bee Network, while the Scottish Government ordered 44. The order from the Scottish Government was made as part of the second phase of the green bus initiative ScotZEB. In the first phase, the Government funded the building of 137 buses, according to a press release from the bus firm at the time, meaning a total of 181 have been ordered since 2022. Mr Burnham said: 'Our iconic Bee Network buses are a bit of Scotland right here in Greater Manchester. 'We have over 160 Alexander Dennis buses criss-crossing our city-region every day – connecting our communities to opportunity. 'If Greater Manchester can invest in world-class Scottish bus manufacturing, then why can't the SNP Scottish Government? 'Meeting the ADL (Alexander Dennis) staff in Falkirk who have helped us to make the Bee Network a reality is always a pleasure and my thoughts are with them at this difficult time.' Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said the closure is a result of Holyrood ministers 'once again overlooking Scottish industry', as he pointed to the award of a contract to build ferries being given to a shipyardyard in Turkey. 'Alexander Dennis buses are already serving passengers successfully across Greater Manchester, yet SNP ministers appear unwilling to give their full backing to the company for the benefit of people here,' Mr Sarwar said. 'John Swinney promised this scheme (ScotZEB) would 'open up new economic opportunities', but he has failed to turn those words into action. 'If the First Minister is serious about boosting Scotland's economy and supporting workers, he should start by investing in Scottish workers.' The Scottish Government has been asked for comment.
