Miliband to 'consider' support for project to help Grangemouth workers
The Acorn CCS project in Aberdeen could provide a much-needed lifeline for staff
Ed Miliband has said he will "consider" fast‐tracking a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Scotland – a move he claims could help secure a future for workers at the beleaguered Grangemouth oil refinery.
Scotland’s only oil refinery, Grangemouth is facing an uncertain fate, with the plant to close in the coming months.
Petroineos, the facility’s owners, have already begun handing out redundancy notices to some of its 400 staff.
However, hope may be on the horizon for the refinery’s workforce.
A pipeline linking Grangemouth to the proposed Acorn CCS project in Aberdeenshire means that expediting the scheme could provide a much-needed lifeline.
The Acorn project aims to capture the CO₂ emissions generated by Grangemouth’s industrial processes, transporting them to Aberdeenshire where they would be stored safely in subsea rock formations beneath the North Sea.
While the UK Government has already invested in two similar carbon capture clusters in Merseyside and Teesside, Scottish First Minister John Swinney has been openly critical of ministers in London for their lack of support for the Acorn project so far.
'Project Willow'
Asked on Friday if he would commit to fast-tracking the project to help secure "some sort of future for Grangemouth", Mr Miliband said he would "obviously look" at such a proposal.
The UK Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary told Times Radio: "We are determined to have a future for that Grangemouth site and for the Grangemouth community.
"That's what we're working on, actually, alongside the Scottish Government, something called Project Willow, which is a whole project which will be published later this month or early next, on looking at how we can ... make the most of the potential resources at Grangemouth.
"Carbon capture and storage could be part of it, sustainable aviation fuel could be part of it."
Huge potential
Speaking about Grangemouth, Mr Miliband said: "There's huge potential on that site, and we are absolutely determined, for the sake of that community, the Scottish economy, the UK economy, to to do that."
His comments came after Mr Swinney told MSPs on Thursday he was "becoming increasingly impatient" about the lack of support given to the Acorn carbon capture and storage project by politicians at Westminster.
The First Minister said he had been "assured" by the previous Conservative government that the project would go ahead, but it "has not been taken forward by the Labour Government".
He also recalled Labour had "promised" to help the Grangemouth workers during last year's general election campaign, with Mr Swinney saying so far this had "not been fulfilled".
'Game-changing tech'
Russell Borthwick, the chief executive of Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce, meanwhile welcomed Mr Miliband's comments.
Mr Borthwick said: "The Secretary of State is right to consider an accelerated timeline for Acorn, which is an economic imperative for both the north-east and wider Scottish economy.
"There is no better opportunity to deliver economic growth and clean power, two stated missions of the government, than progressing the Scottish cluster."
He added: "Carbon capture technology is game-changing technology which can create tens of thousands of jobs across the country.
"However, if we are serious about decarbonisation, then we must move much faster and more comprehensively than we have to date.
"The UK will need all five of its proposed carbon capture clusters - and possibly more - if it is to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
"Therefore, the Government should be progressing all clusters at pace, in particular the Acorn project in Aberdeenshire, which the Prime Minister has seen for himself is shovel ready."
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