UK ministers under mounting pressure over Scotland's first carbon capture site Acorn

Politicians from across the spectrum have signed an open letter to Chancellor Rachel Reeves

UK ministers have been warned further delays to Scotland's first carbon capture and storage facility will put jobs at risk and compromise energy security.

Politicians from across the party spectrum have signed an open letter to Chancellor Rachel Reeves co-ordinated by Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce (AGCC).

The letter calls on the UK government to make the proposed facility in St Fergus, near Peterhead in Aberdeenshire, an “immediate priority”.

Rachel Reeves | PA

The Scottish Acorn project previously missed out on government funding to sites in Merseyside and Teesside. The SNP has accused UK ministers of prioritising projects in England and offering the site "no certainty at all".

There are now mounting concerns the scheme will be sidelined or kicked into the long grass. Ms Reeves is preparing to deliver her spring statement today.

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The letter by AGCC echoes calls from Scotland’s business community “to advance and accelerate this project by providing investment certainty in the upcoming comprehensive spending review”.

It says: “If Scotland’s energy communities are to avoid a cliff edge in the transition to clean energy, major projects such as Acorn CCS [carbon capture and storage] must move forward with pace and with certainty.

“Further delays will jeopardise Scotland’s industrial decarbonisation, put significant private sector investment at risk and compromise our energy security. Acorn is Scotland’s only at-scale CO2 transport and storage solution. Without it, there is no viable route for Scottish industry to decarbonise.”

The letter argues Acorn could be a major driver of economic activity and growth, unlocking £7 billion in private investment, creating 15,000 new jobs, protecting 18,000 existing ones and generating £17.7bn for the UK economy.

A decision to fast-track the project, it says, “could quickly enable carbon capture at Peterhead Power Station – a 900MW gas-fired plant vital for UK energy security”.

Acorn is also vital in securing an industrial future for Grangemouth, the letter adds.

It concludes: “If the UK is serious about decarbonisation, economic growth and energy security, we must move faster and more decisively on CCS. We urge you to take the necessary action to ensure that Acorn is delivered at pace.”

CCS is a technology that captures the emissions from burning fuels for energy or from industrial processes such as cement production, and uses or transports them for storage permanently underground – for example, in disused oil fields under the sea.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer previously announced two “carbon capture clusters” in Merseyside and Teesside would be developed over the next 25 years at a cost of almost £22bn.

Last year, Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) said there were concerns the two projects in the north of England would "consume all of the money available".

A spokesman for the UK government’s department for energy security and net zero said: “Acorn has already received over £40 million for development and our historic £21.7bn funding for two initial carbon capture clusters is just the first step in developing a thriving, UK-wide industry.

“Scotland is at the forefront of the drive towards clean energy, with Great British Energy headquartered in Aberdeen and Cromarty Firth recently being awarded £56m to become the UK’s first floating offshore wind port capable of making turbines at scale.”