6 days ago
Climate protest in Perth city centre over SSE plans for fossil fuel plant
Campaigners pointed to existing SSE Peterhead power station as amongst Scotland's biggest polluters with the company confirming that it will continue burning gas until 2040.
Climate campaigners targeted energy company SSE's Perth AGM last week over plans to build a new fossil fuel power station with protests inside and outside the meeting.
Activist shareholders inside the event questioned the company's Board, challenging them over their recent admission that the proposed new gas burning power station at Peterhead would be three times more damaging to the climate than originally claimed.
SSE bosses were grilled over the failures of carbon capture technology on which the plant relies, as well as the increasing pollution that will be caused by gas imports as North Sea production declines.
A crowd outside the Perth Concert Hall protested the revelation that total emissions created by the fossil fuel project would rise from 6.3 million tonnes to 17.1 million tonnes.
SSE was recently forced to redo its climate calculations after earlier assessments failed to include the inevitable pollution from extracting and transporting the gas to be burned at the Peterhead site.
Over 30 climate groups and 1600 individuals recently responded to the public consultation on the new pollution figures calling for the project to be rejected.
Adrian Johnson, one of the activists asking questions inside the AGM, said: 'I'm a grandad and former deputy headteacher. Climate science couldn't be clearer that we desperately need to end the use of fossil fuels.
'That's why I went to the SSE AGM - to call out the boss, the leadership and board of this energy giant for plotting to shackle my future and that of my grandchildren to murderous fossil fuels for decades to come.'
Protesters outside spoke to shareholders attending the AGM urging them to also challenge the company's plans to continue using fossil fuels to generate electricity, which would link energy bills to volatile international gas prices.
SSE made £2.4billion in profits last year whilst a third of Scottish households were trapped into fuel poverty.
SSE's existing power station in Peterhead is already amongst Scotland's biggest polluters with the company confirming that it will continue burning gas until 2040.
The proposals for an additional gas plant will run until 2055, well past Scotland's net zero target date.
Friends of the Earth Scotland highlighted the fact that, despite the company's marketing and green image, 57% of SSE's energy generation output comes from non-renewable sources.
SSE also announced recently that it would scale back its renewables investment by £3billion.
Friends of the Earth Scotland oil and gas activism organiser Freya Aitchison commented: 'People concerned about climate and fuel poverty have been consistently protesting SSE's plans to build a new power station in Peterhead.
'SSE bosses and shareholders are cashing in on the cost-of-living crisis, keeping us locked into volatile gas prices and high energy bills, while accelerating climate breakdown by burning fossil fuels.
A spokesperson for SSE said: 'SSE respects the right to peaceful protest and remains committed to constructive engagement with all stakeholders. 'We're constructing the world's largest offshore wind farm and have plans to build a grid to support more electrification and clean power in Scotland.
'Scotland also needs flexible generation during the energy transition, that's why building a more efficient plant at Peterhead and capturing carbon from it is crucial to keeping the lights on.'
