Bid to stop taxpayer-backed gas power plant as pollution ratings soar

The Herald Scotland

a day ago

The Scottish Government's own Scottish Enterprise agency has admitted support for the Peterhead power station project, headed by energy giants SSE, based in Perth and Norwegian government-owned Equinor while it secured a huge slice of a £31m investment into Scotland through the UK Government's Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge Fund in 2021.
The allied carbon capture project was as of March the only one being considered so far in Scotland's planning system, and campaigners had believed that its green credentials were an 'environmental con' and had led to major complaints about the Scottish Government's handling of proposals which have been with them since February 2022.
SSE and Equinor describe it as a low-carbon power station and said that it could become one of the UK's first power stations equipped with carbon capture technology.
Now Friends of the Earth Scotland has said that the Peterhead project must be stopped after new environmental assessments show that lifetime pollution from the site, which includes the power station and the construction works, is set to rise from 6.3m tonnes of CO2e carbon dioxide equivalent) - standard metric used to compare the global warming potential of different greenhouse gases - to 17.1m tonnes.
The revelation has reinforced concerns that ministers had been "misled" over the environmental impact of the project.
The current Peterhead facility has been generating electricity for more than four decades but it is now the last in Scotland to burn fossil fuels.
In 2014, the existing Peterhead power station had been the most polluting site in Scotland for the previous five years.
Supporters had said that the new carbon capture technology could slash emissions from the new site by more than 90%.
Then First Minister Humza Yousaf appeared in a controversial SSE 'promo' (Image: SSE)
The First Minister John Swinney has rejected complaints of 30 alleged breaches of the ministerial code breaches which included former First Minister Humza Yousaf's visit to Peterhead site and a subsequent 'promo' video produced by the developers because he said it was not connected to the proposals they were considering - a document from one of his advisers confirmed there was a direct link.
First Minister John Swinney rejected complaints and said Mr Yousaf's appearance in an SSE video and wearing SSE branded clothing at the site of the station project are not related to the planning application.
Another complaint surrounded a meeting on April 2022 between First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon and Norwegian government-owned Equinor, which has said it will proceed with the development of the controversial Rosebank oil and gas field off Shetland.
She was told by civil servants to say that she welcomed 'Equinor's continued investment in Scotland' while the briefing stated that 'the Peterhead site is ideally placed for carbon capture technology...." The latter commentary is identical to that produced in a press statement by SSE and Equinor in 2021.
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Mr Swinney rejected allegations relating to briefings ahead of meetings saying that their receipt is a "passive act" by ministers. He also said that he was "satisfied" there was no evidence of impropriety by officials providing briefings.
Former net zero secretary Michael Matheson was also identified in the 30 'breaches' rejected by Mr Swinney.
Environmental campaigners believe the allegations should have been referred to the Ethical Standards Commissioner, the independent regulator appointed by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body or Holyrood's standards committee.
There are concerns that the actions of ministers, who are considering whether to approve or reject the plans, show they are a 'foregone conclusion'.
Friends of the Earth Scotland's climate campaigner Alex Lee said: "SSE has been forced to admit its plans for new gas burning at Peterhead would be a climate disaster for decades to come.
'This carbon capture con has enjoyed significant financial and political support from Scottish Ministers who have consistently refused to see the evidence of its vast climate pollution.
"Ministers have been fooled by the lobbying of this industry and should be embarrassed by their failure to ever properly interrogate the claims of SSE or order a new environmental assessment when concerns were raised.
"The climate case for this project was always desperately weak and now it is in tatters."
The companies say their plans for a new 910-megawatt gas power station and carbon capture facility at Peterhead will ultimately replace an existing plant and slash emissions.
Supporters say the new carbon capture technology could slash emissions from the new site by more than 90%.
They say Peterhead 2 would have a system that could capture planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions and send them via pipes from the power station to nearby St Fergus - where they would be injected into depleted oil wells under the North Sea about 50 miles offshore.
Video: The former First Minister appeared in this SSE video.
The Scottish Enterprise expressed support for the Peterhead CCS as the plans were unveiled in 2021 and received financial backing through the UK Government's Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge Fund, which aims to support the development of low-carbon and the transition to net-zero industrial processes by 2040.
Scottish Enterprise interim chief executive Linda Hanna said at the time: 'In line with our ambitious climate change targets, Scotland is leading the way on a just energy transition.
"Supported by key Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Government policies, the Peterhead CCS Power Station project demonstrates this transition in action.
"This key energy site in Scotland is utilising the talent and connections within the industry to support wider industrial decarbonisation and will be a key area of discussion at COP26."
But activists have constantly questioned claims from the energy firms involved in the Peterhead project, SSE and Equinor, that the facility could capture more than 90% of carbon burned.
The capture process aims to suck harmful carbon from the air as fossil fuels are burned - before it can get into the atmosphere. The gas would then be piped to empty oil wells under the North Sea.
A study by Carbon Tracker, the London-based not-for-profit think tank that researches the impact of climate change on financial markets believed the Peterhead project could in fact produce five times more than developers have admitted.
The new power station is expected to run well into the 2050s - beyond the Scottish Government's target date for net zero of 2045.
And last year, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency raised its own misgivings saying that the overall climate impact of the proposed development was "unclear", and that it has the potential to generate emissions that may be "insignificant now but may be incompatible with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions targets in 2045".
Extinction Rebellion Scotland and Glasgow Calls Out Polluters activists who blocked the entrance to the SSE gas power station in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire in protest at greenwashing" policies in 2021 (Image: PA)
Alex Lee added: "Even the tripling of its climate harm is likely to be a gross underestimate because of SSE's wildly exaggerated claims about how much carbon it aims to capture. This entire scheme is built on the rotten foundations of carbon capture, which decades of evidence has made clear will not work.
'New fossil fuel infrastructure will lock household electricity bills to the volatile international price of gas and keep people trapped in this exploitative energy system that has produced widespread fuel poverty and climate breakdown.
'The Scottish Government can save some face now by scrapping these plans and investing in climate solutions that we know will work today and improve lives - upgrading public transport, insulating homes and creating green jobs in credible industries with a secure future.'
Equinor, which provided around 27% of the UK's gas demand in 2022 has received consent from the North Sea Transition Authority for the development of the controversial Rosebank oil field, which is 80 miles to the west of Shetland and the largest undeveloped oil field in UK waters. The field discovered in 2004, has been estimated to hold around 300 million barrels of oil equivalent with a planned start up date of 2026/27.
A spokesman for SSE Thermal said: 'In October last year, and in line with evolving planning policy, SSE Thermal outlined its intention to undertake additional environmental assessments for Peterhead Carbon Capture Power Station, specifically regarding the assessment of upstream emissions.
'This work is now complete and has been submitted to the Scottish Government's Energy Consents Unit for consideration.
'The Climate Change Committee, UK Government, and Scottish Government are all clear – carbon capture is an essential part of the technology mix needed to deliver net zero. Evidence and science show that for the UK to reach its climate targets, CCS must be deployed at scale across both power and industrial sectors.
'As Scotland's only flexible power station, decarbonising Peterhead is critical. The proposed new station will provide vital low-carbon flexible backup from the outset of construction to enable more renewables, support the decarbonisation of heavy industry and, create and retain jobs in the North East of Scotland.'
A Scottish Government spokesman said: 'It would not be appropriate to comment on a live application.
'A decision will be taken by Ministers in due course, following consideration of the application information, consultation responses and representations made by members of the public.'