Chancellor confirms funding for Acorn Carbon capture project
The development near Peterhead was included in Rachel Reeves' spending review
Funding for the long-awaited Acorn carbon capture project in Aberdeenshire has finally been confirmed by the Chancellor.
The proposed facility - which will store carbon emissions from across Scotland under the North Sea - had been overlooked by successive UK governments in recent years in favour of investment elsewhere.
But, delivering her spending review in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Rachel Reeves announced the project is in line for "development funding" from the UK Government.
Acorn in line for 'development funding' - but how much?
Ms Reeves said: "Today, I can announce support for the Acorn project in Aberdeenshire, supporting Scotland's transition from oil and gas to low carbon technology.
"A challenge and an opportunity well understood by the leader of Scottish Labour Anas Sarwar and the Scottish Secretary."
It is not clear from the 136-page document released by the Treasury how much funding the project will be given, a fact criticised by SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn.
"The SNP has campaigned for investment in Scottish carbon capture for over a decade, so it is welcome that after years of Westminster delays and funding snubs we have finally secured a measure of progress towards making the Acorn project a reality to create jobs and investment for our communities," he said.
Chancellor criticised for lack of detail
"However, the glaring omission in today's announcement was any detail on the scale of funding and the timescales for delivery which stands in stark contrast to the £22 billion commitment the Labour Government has already given to carbon capture projects in England.
"Westminster has had 20 years to hammer out the detail on Scottish carbon capture, so it must now deliver meaningful funding and concrete support at pace."
Urging the UK Government to display "a seriousness about Scotland's energy industry", Mr Flynn added: "You cannot secure economic growth, energy security and net zero without harnessing the existing skills we have in our offshore industries and without proper investment in key projects like Acorn - the SNP will always demand our resources are used to the benefit the people of Scotland and an end to the absurd circumstances whereby energy bills are going up in our energy-rich country while energy jobs are going down."
Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce chief executive Russell Borthwick welcomed the news, saying he hoped the funding would "allow work to proceed on the project's preliminary stages and move it forward".