Ed Miliband: We 'owe Scotland' over £200m Acorn project funds and 'unlimited' jobs potential

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has insisted politicians “owe the people of Scotland” the Acorn carbon capture project after “years of dither and delay”.

Mr Miliband has insisted that there are “unlimited opportunities” for jobs as he pledged to put Scotland and the North Sea at “the centre of this energy transition” as he boasted Labour was “putting its money where its mouth is”.

Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband at the St Fergus gas terminal (Paul Campbell/PA Wire) | Paul Campbell/PA Wire

The Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary visited the site of the key energy project at the St Fergus gas terminal near Peterhead where he confirmed £200 million from the Labour government will propel the Acorn project forward with up to 15,000 jobs potentially being created.

The £200m, the amount asked for by the companies involved in the Acorn project including Shell and Harbour Energy, was confirmed in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ spending review, despite speculation carbon capture projects could face the axe.

READ MORE: Labour's North Sea plan to create additional energy jobs - despite oil and gas decline

A final investment decision is still to take place and will do so in the next spending review towards the end of the decade when construction could begin.

The Scottish Government is now expected to hand over its previously promised £80m of funding for the Acorn project which was dependent on UK ministers finally putting their hands in their pockets.

Carbon capture prevents harmful carbon from entering the atmosphere and instead harnesses the gas and traps it below the seabed. But critics have warned the technology is yet to be tested at commercial scale.

The Acorn carbon capture project will be built next to the St Fergus gas terminal (Photo: Paul Campbell/PA Wire) | Paul Campbell/PA Wire

Plans for Scotland to reach net zero by 2045 and the UK as a whole to do so by 2050, rely on scaling up the technology.

Speaking to The Scotsman at St Fergus, Mr Miliband said he understood the “frustration” of failed promises after “years of dither and delay” from previous UK governments.

He said: “Lots of previous governments have promised Acorn but kept pushing it back and pushing it back. That’s why we were so keen to deliver.

READ MORE: Acorn project funding uncertainty as 'final decision' still to be made by Chancellor Rachel Reeves

“When I thought about my priorities for the spending review, and obviously you have these discussions with the Treasury, I thought Acorn is a non-negotiable - it’s got to happen.

“It’s got to happen because we, frankly, owe the people of Scotland that promise. It’s also in our national interest - in the Scottish national interest, in the UK national interest and I’m so pleased that we’ve got to this point. Now we are basically turbo-charging this.”

The UK government has pledged funding for a key initiative to repurpose an existing 110-mile pipeline from Grangemouth - connecting that industrial hub to the Acorn project, potentially playing a key role in ensuring the landmark Project Willow technologies are viable.

“This is not just about the site here, but this is also game-changing for the link to Grangemouth,” Mr Miliband added.

“We are not just decarbonising here, but you have that crucial link to Grangemouth.

“What’s so clear is that Scotland’s incredible heritage, its incredible present opportunities and its incredible future opportunities makes Scotland the centre of this energy transition.”

READ MORE: SNP ministers accused of secrecy over £2m Grangemouth carbon capture study

The North Sea oil and gas sector has been heavily critical of the Labour UK government for its energy policies including the energy profits levy and a vow to end new offshore fossil fuel licences.

Amid fears over energy jobs being lost in the transition, Mr Miliband insisted the Acorn project “is about thousands of jobs”.

He added: “What’s so exciting talking to the companies is that there’s huge opportunities to decarbonise the UK and there’s huge opportunities for this to be the place where the rest of Europe transports its CO2. That means huge extra job opportunities here.

“I think there’s just unlimited potential. We know the North Sea can be the global centre, the European centre of carbon capture and storage and Acorn is going to make it happen.”