The Scottish Government has approved construction of a new gas-fired power station at Peterhead.<\/p>\n
Set to be operated by SSE and Equinor, it should generate around 900 megawatts of electricity and includes provision for carbon capture.<\/p>\n
The current facility has been generating electricity for more than four decades – and it is now the last in Scotland to burn fossil fuels.<\/p>\n
A government spokesperson said the potential impacts on communities, nature and cultural heritage – including the cumulative effects of developments – were “important considerations” in the decision-making process.<\/p>\n
Finlay McCutcheon, managing director of SSE Thermal, said: “This is an important milestone for a project which has the potential to provide the flexible, low-carbon electricity needed to support a renewables-led energy system while creating and sustaining good jobs in the north east of Scotland.”<\/p>\n
Maggie Chapman, Scottish Green MSP for the north east, commented: “Year after year, Peterhead power station has been Scotland\u2019s largest source of climate pollution, and instead of tackling that and reducing its impact, the government has decided to expand it.<\/p>\n
“At a time when we should be accelerating the shift to a renewables-powered energy economy, the Scottish Government is now locking Scotland into decades more fossil fuel dependency, based on unproven, expensive carbon capture and storage schemes that simply cannot deliver the rapid emissions cuts we need.<\/p>\n
“Instead of expanding what is already Scotland\u2019s most polluting site, the government should be investing in long-term high-value and high-skilled green jobs and grasping the huge opportunities we have for renewable energy.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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