SNP's Flynn hits out at Labour over Acorn CCUS snub

The Herald Scotland

27-04-2025

However, there was no update on the Acorn CCUS project – based at St Fergus, near Peterhead.
Stephen Flynn, the SNP's Westminster leader, said the Labour government were treating Scotland as an 'afterthought', warning that repeated delays to the project risked economic decline in the north-east and undermined efforts to reach the UK's legally binding climate targets.
St Fergus in Aberdeenshire (Image: PA) Acorn is Scotland's only large-scale CCUS initiative. It aims to capture carbon dioxide emissions from industrial facilities and power plants, transporting them offshore to be permanently stored in depleted gas fields beneath the North Sea.
The project plans to reuse existing oil and gas infrastructure, notably pipelines that already run from St Fergus out to former drilling sites.
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Acorn missed out on support in 2021, when funding instead went to two areas in the north of England. It was instead placed on the Track 2 reserve list for future backing. That means it has little chance of being developed until the second phase in the 2030s at the earliest.
If delivered, it could provide a critical lifeline for Scotland's heavy industries. The Climate Change Committee, the UK's statutory adviser on climate policy, has projected that the Scottish cluster could ultimately store between 10 and 22 million tonnes of CO₂ a year by 2050.
The project is also intended to help secure a "just transition" for the north-east economy as the oil and gas sector declines.
A 2023 impact assessment estimated that Acorn could support 15,000 jobs across construction and long-term operation, with many roles directly reusing skills from the offshore oil and gas sector, which has seen workforce numbers in Aberdeen fall by about a third in recent years.
Earlier this year, industry leaders warned that not investing in Acorn could risk thousands of jobs, billions of pounds of investment, and future economic growth.
(Image: House of Commons/PA Wire) In a letter to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Mr Flynn, who is the MP for Aberdeen South, said the omission of Acorn funding was 'another chapter in the same old Westminster story' in which Scotland's energy sector was treated as a "cash cow".
He said the Prime Minister's announcement of further funding for projects in England "without mention of finance or progress for the Scottish Cluster' was disappointing.
'The success of this project has been hindered by a failure of consecutive UK Governments to deliver certainty on both licensing and funding. The same damaging trend appears to have continued into your government.
'The simple reality is that if you want to deliver Net Zero, grow the economy and help safeguard energy security then there is no project better placed than Acorn, but it appears that once again Scotland is an afterthought to Westminster.
"Business leaders are absolutely clear on this and it's high time the UK Labour Government listened to the evidence and delivered, with the industry in dire need of certainty from a UK Labour Government which has offered nothing outside of confusion and prevarication.'
Mr Flynn said the announcement was the 'latest instalment in a litany of Labour Government betrayals of Scottish industry, where investment and key assets move higher up the Labour Party's list depending on which side of the border they are found.'
'There is a growing consensus and conclusion that Scotland is an afterthought to the UK Labour Government and that these latest announcements have been a kick in the teeth to Scottish workers, to our energy sector and to our economy,' he added.
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A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero defended the government's position, saying ministers 'recognise the value of the Acorn project to Scotland and our wider clean power plan'.
They said: 'We are delivering first-of-a-kind carbon capture projects in the UK, supporting thousands of jobs across the country, reigniting industrial heartlands and tackling the climate crisis.
'The Energy Secretary has made clear in Parliament that we recognise the value of the Acorn project to Scotland and our wider clean power plan. Carbon capture requires significant resources, and it is right that it is considered within the Spending Review.
'Alongside headquartering Great British Energy in Aberdeen, we are working with industry on a plan for the next generation of good jobs in Scotland in hydrogen, offshore wind and ports, as part of the government's clean energy superpower mission.'
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband told MPs in March that the government remained committed to Acorn and the Scottish Cluster.
'I support the Acorn project, it is really important,' he said. However, the minister added that 'the right time to make decisions will be at the spending review in June.'
Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband (Image: Kin Cheung/PA) The UK is well placed for CCUS projects. There is enough storage capacity for an estimated 78 billion tonnes of CO₂ — more than 200 years' worth of current emissions.
However, the technology is expensive. Capturing, transporting, and storing carbon can cost between $50 and $100 per tonne of CO₂.
There are also questions over whether or not the first-of-its-kind technology is viable.
In February, the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) described the technology as a 'gamble' and said they were 'unconvinced that CCUS is the silver bullet Government is apparently betting on' to reach net zero.
The UK Government downgraded its ambitions for CCUS in 2024, with a target of storing 20 to 30 million tonnes per year of CO₂ by 2030 now seen as no longer achievable.
Last week's announcement came after the UK Government and Italian energy firm Eni agreed a deal for financial support for its Liverpool Bay carbon capture and storage project.
The firm said the agreement of financial terms with the UK government will allow the project to move into the construction phase and 'support the UK's industrial competitiveness for the long term'.