Latest news with #AcornProject
The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Genuine opportunity for business but momentum at risk of stalling
We welcome the Chancellor's £86 billion commitment to science, technology and research, as well as funding for the vital Acorn Project in Aberdeenshire, and the £750 million restoration of the Edinburgh University supercomputer. These decisions will help cement Scotland's place at the cutting edge of global industries as well as generate jobs, boost regional economies, and spur commercialisation of ideas born in our world-class universities. The UK Government's plan to increase defence spending from 2% to 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2027 also represents a significant economic opportunity for Scotland to expand the industrial base and create jobs in productive industries like advanced manufacturing. Our aerospace, defence, security and space sectors provide 430,000 jobs and the Acorn Project carbon capture and storage facility will create 15,000 more in construction alone - as well as making the Northeast a world leader in the low-carbon industry and attracting billions in private investment. By focusing on high-growth sectors like carbon capture, information technology (IT), biotechnology and life sciences, as well as increased defence spending, the Government is signalling the right priorities. Alongside the additional £2.9bn allocation for Scotland through the Barnett Formula, it's another shot in the arm for industrial growth. Scotland's businesses will be buoyed by the potential this unlocks. The UK Government's Modern Industrial Strategy, published last week, reinforced these investments with a plan ready for implementation. Scottish Chambers of Commerce (SCC) has long called for a joined-up approach to developing our major industries, and last week the Government indicated it was listening, giving a vote of confidence to Scotland's manufacturers and innovators. But let's be clear: without urgent, coordinated reform, this good news could be squandered if the headaches businesses face every day are not resolved: Soaring operational costs, including the hike in employer national insurance contributions (NICs) and the highest energy bills in Europe Inadequate business rates support, hitting our struggling high streets and the hospitality sector hardest The bureaucratic burdens and constraints in planning blocking progress on infrastructure projects and private investment The huge staffing and skills shortage thwarting our ambitions and ability to grow to meet current and future demand The Spending Review commitments can put the UK economy on a pathway to growth, but it's clear the Treasury needs more financial flexibility to invest in long-term assets such as transport, infrastructure, connectivity and logistics. The Chancellor should heed calls from the International Monetary Fund and leading economists to review the Government's fiscal rules. Read more Closer to home, it was encouraging to hear the First Minister, John Swinney, affirm his commitment at the Scotland 2050 conference to align policy with economic opportunity. Business desperately needs clarity and leadership, and we are starting to see this approach bear fruit. Earlier this month, EY reported that one in six UK investment projects were based in Scotland, underlining our nation's structural attractiveness to investors, second only to London. However, spending promises on building projects and transport infrastructure will amount to empty words without the necessary reforms to get the system moving at pace. Why does it currently take 58 weeks to process a planning application in Glasgow, yet just 16 weeks in Manchester? Worryingly, we are also forecast to need 700 additional planners to meet market demand with no clear plan to meet that number anytime soon. The cost of building is higher in Scotland than the rest of the UK, largely because of the Scottish Government's higher regulatory standards. Whilst this may be well-intentioned, some regulations are clearly becoming an impediment to growth. Strategic thinking is required to balance sensible regulation against economic necessity. Smart reforms are also needed across the public sector to ensure best practice and streamlined and simplified processes are aligned with key business priorities. These are all critical areas we must address if we are to maximise the opportunities for jobs and economic growth offered by the Spending Review. We simply have to take this positive momentum and capitalise on it. Read more The Scottish Government also outlined its budget priorities last week, pledging to expand borrowing for capital spending in construction and renewables, but with a welcomed emphasis on public sector reform. The Finance Secretary has expressed her intention to maximise every penny of investment through efficiencies and technical improvement, boosting productivity in the long term. This is something every sector of the economy stands to benefit from. While Scottish Government spending is significantly shaped by the Barnett Formula, which ensures that a population-based adjustment is made to align spending in devolved areas such as health or education, the Scottish Government has outlined clear priorities and a direction of travel to business. Westminster and Holyrood must now work in close collaboration to support these investments with a laser focus on delivery, removing obstacles to growth and finding solutions for businesses weighed down by spiralling costs and excessive regulation. The Scottish Chambers of Commerce and our Network are ready and willing to work in partnership with governments and help businesses navigate the business challenges and economic opportunities. Collaboration is the key to secure the growth and jobs we so badly need. Liz Cameron is chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce
The Herald Scotland
17-06-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Why is Labour holding back? Is it willing the SNP to fail?
It's almost as if they want the SNP to fail, rather than reap the benefits of showing them and the electorate how it's done. That's if they are actually up to the task. Allan Sutherland, Stonehaven. The problem with Sturgeon So, when Holywood actor Rupert Everett criticises Nicola Sturgeon's handling of the arts as parochial and damaging, labelling her a "witch", Ms Sturgeon's intellectually lazy response is to claim he's misogynistic ("Sturgeon accuses Everett of misogyny", The Herald, June 16). Surely she must be posturing and realises that next to no-one cares that she's a woman? My problem with Ms Sturgeon has nothing to do with her sex and everything to do with her protracted mismanagement of Scotland's public services (think growing NHS waiting times, an increasing educational attainment gap, escalating drug deaths, the ferry procurement fiasco, an undualled A9, all accompanied by soaring taxation) and her divisive obsession with nationalist dogma. Martin Redfern, Melrose. Read more letters England £40bn, Scotland £200m On June 11 the BBC News website reported that to date the UK Government has pledged £17.8 billion towards the construction of the new Sizewell C nuclear power plant in Suffolk. The project is being funded by UK Treasury borrowing. As a consequential of this borrowing a total of £1.513bn will be included within future Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) figures as this country's "share" of the total amount being borrowed. This is despite the fact that no nuclear power stations are being built in Scotland. Indeed, Scotland already produces a surplus of electricity and people living in the north-east will soon be treated to the sight of massive pylons being constructed throughout their area to carry this surplus power to our southern neighbours. On June 12 the UK Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband, stated that a total of £200 million would be allocated to fund the proposed Acorn carbon capture project at St Fergus. While this very long-overdue announcement of funding from Mr Miliband is to be welcomed, it pales into absolute insignificance when compared to the £21.7bn over 25 years to support carbon capture projects in the north-east and north-west of England. As these projects are being funded through UK Treasury borrowing, Scotland will also be given an allocated "share" of the consequential debt for them when its future GERS figures are published. The combined funding bill for these projects in England totals (so far) £39.5bn. Scottish taxpayers – present and future – will be required to pay their share of the money borrowed to build them. It has to be asked if people living in Scotland consider that £200m for the Acorn Project at St Fergus has been a fair deal when placed against the many billions already set aside for carbon capture in north-east and north-west England? During last week's BBC Scotland Debate Night programme the subject of the UK Government's Spending Review was discussed. Scottish actor Brian Cox said: "For Starmer, everything is about England." Given the situation related to the Acorn Project it is difficult not to concur with that particular opinion. Jim Finlayson, Banchory. • Scotland has its ferries, but every now and then we are reminded that we Scots are total amateurs when it comes to scandalous wastes of public money. That a door would cost £10 million is astonishing, but for it to then not work is beyond comprehension ("New House of Lords front door that cost almost £10 million does not work", heraldscotland, June 16). However it's for the Ruritanian House of Lords, so that's OK then. The entire Palace of Westminster is scheduled for a complete refurbishment which may cost an eye-watering £26bn (or probably more). Repeat, Twenty-six billion pounds. I hope Scotland has the good sense to become a self-governing country long before the bills for that nonsense drop through the letterbox. Does the £10m door have a letterbox? Probably not, as a flunky in stockings, garters and a wig will be available to bring the mail to 'our betters'. GR Weir, Ochiltree. We should follow China Mike Flinn (Letters, June 11) criticises John Swinney for not having 'a basic grasp of maths', so I hope he wasn't listening to BBC Radio 4's Today programme on June 12, the day after the Chancellor's Spending Review. If he was, he'll have heard Rachel Reeves say that the UK's interest payment on its national debt is £100 million per year. An easy slip to make, as the true figure is an astonishing £105 billion. And given the extra borrowing unveiled, the BBC estimates that, by the end of the decade, the annual payment will have risen to £132bn; that's almost £2,000 for every woman, man and child. To put that in perspective, the Office of Budget Responsibility says that in 2024-25 spending on education was £89bn and on defence £38bn. Imagine how you could transform education and other areas of government spending if the Exchequer wasn't staggering under the burden of that debt mountain, but it can't be wished away. I understand the problem facing Ms Reeves and indeed all of us, and I'm pleased she emphasises the importance of investment to grow the economy. Only through growth can we raise the taxes to fund our public services and, hopefully but slowly, reduce our debt. However, it appears the bulk of the promised extra spending is going to health and defence, areas that are net consumers of resources rather than generators of wealth. Things aren't as bad as they were immediately after the Second World War, when the UK's public sector debt reached an astonishing 250% of GDP. The years after were tough, with debt repayments and the loss of the empire that had sent its riches back to the UK; but governments, both Labour and Conservative, managed to reduce debt to a manageable 50%, mainly through growth. However, since the global financial crisis of 2008, debt has skyrocketed and looks set to continue on a sharply upward trajectory. If the limited extra investment announced by the Chancellor doesn't produce great returns, we'll remain trapped in an upward spiral of debt. We all want better public services but we have to accept that they can't be turned round overnight. It's vital that government invests for the long term and restrains public spending in the interim. China is a supreme example of how long-term planning can transform an economy, but of course its leadership doesn't have to worry about elections. Doug Maughan, Dunblane. Nicola Sturgeon (Image: PA) Watch party promises closely We know things are bad when even the Labour Party is struggling to balance essential cuts to expenditure against popularity with voters. It's one of the features of democracy that when times are tough, the policies needed to address them will be unpopular with most of the electorate. We are a fickle lot and tend to vote for whichever party panders most to our self-interest – resulting in manifestos that tell us what they think most people want to hear. Once elected they then try and adapt those policies to the reality of the economic situation. U-turns aplenty. This does not however apply to the SNP, which relies on support from those who believe that the magic wand of independence is the solution to all our problems. The SNP can make attractive promises ignoring the fact that going down the independence path would only add to the complexity of our situation. Once elected in Holyrood the SNP then uses Westminster as a ready-made excuse for everything that it fails to deliver, citing lack of funds or "levers" as a cover for incompetence. In next year's Scottish election, the parties will be promising all sorts. Before deciding who to vote for, we should each judge how the prospect of them actually delivering their manifestos stacks up against the economic reality that deep down we know to be the case. One thing should be clear is that we should discount the party that relies on a magic wand it does not possess and has a ready-made excuse for failure. Mark Openshaw, Aberdeen.
BBC News
13-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Ministers back '20,000-job' Humber Viking carbon capture project
The company behind a major carbon capture scheme on the south bank of the Humber – which could support 20,000 jobs during construction – says it will work with the government on the "critical steps" needed to bring it to Rachel Reeves confirmed support for the Viking CCS Humberside project during her Spending Review speech on technology would extract emissions from industry in the Immingham area before transporting the gas via pipelines to be stored under the North Davies, executive vice president at Harbour Energy, said the announcement sent "a strong signal" that the scheme was "an infrastructure-led economic growth priority in this parliament". The government has earmarked £9.4bn in capital budgets towards carbon capture clusters, which it said would help the UK "achieve energy security and clean power".The Viking scheme is one of two projects to be backed in the Spending Review, with a £200m investment announced for the Acorn Project, based in St Fergus, Aberdeenshire. Planning consent for Viking was granted by the government in April and a final investment decision is expected to be taken later in this parliament.A 55km (34-mile) pipeline would carry the extracted emissions from the Immingham area to the site of the former Theddlethorpe Gas Terminal on the Lincolnshire to the government, Viking could support approximately 20,000 jobs, including 1,000 apprenticeships, at the peak of construction operational the Viking and Acorn clusters are expected to remove a total of 18-million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere per year. The technology could also generate low-carbon power and enable hydrogen power. Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
The Independent
12-06-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Government ‘putting its money where its mouth is' with £200m for Acorn scheme
The UK Government is 'putting its money where its mouth is', Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said as it was revealed £200 million is being made available for a carbon capture project in Scotland. Ministers confirmed they are meeting in full the request for development funding for the Acorn project in Aberdeenshire – the first time a government has provided funding of this scale for such a project to proceed. The scheme, which proposes storing emissions from across Scotland under the North Sea, had previously been overlooked for support despite repeated calls from the Scottish Government and others for it to be backed. With the UK Government also pledging to support the Viking carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in the Humber, Mr Miliband insisted the two schemes will 'support industrial renewal' with 'thousands of highly skilled jobs'. According to the sector, Acorn could support about 15,000 jobs at its peak, with up to 20,000 jobs at the Viking project. As it develops, it is planned the Acorn site will link up with the former oil refinery at Grangemouth via more than 200 miles of pipelines. An existing 175 miles of gas pipes will be repurposed for this, with 35 miles of new pipeline also being built, allowing CO2 from the Grangemouth site to be transported to Acorn's storage facilities under the North Sea. The move is seen by many as being key in securing a future for the facility, where some 400 workers were recently made redundant. Speaking as he visited the site near Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, Mr Miliband said: 'This Government is putting its money where its mouth is and backing the trailblazing Acorn and Viking CCS projects. 'This will support industrial renewal in Scotland and the Humber with thousands of highly-skilled jobs at good wages to build Britain's clean energy future. 'Carbon capture will make working people in Britain's hard-working communities better off, breathing new life into their towns and cities and reindustrialising the country through our Plan for Change.' Mr Miliband visited the site the day after Rachel Reeves promised funding for Acorn in her spending review – although the Chancellor did not put a figure on how much support would be given in her statement to MPs. Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said afterwards: 'The £200 million funding confirmed for the Acorn carbon capture project will help to support the design and preparation as it continues to progress. 'This is about revitalising our industrial communities and creating long-term economic opportunities for Scottish workers.' Tim Stedman, chief executive of Storegga, the lead developer of Acorn, said: 'We warmly welcome the UK Government's support for the Acorn project and the commitment to development funding that will enable the critical work needed to reach final investment decision.' He added the 'milestone' is 'key not only for Acorn but for establishing Scotland's essential CCS infrastructure needed to grow and scale the UK's wider carbon capture and storage industry'. Mr Stedman continued: 'We look forward to working with Government in the months ahead to understand the details of today's commitment, and to ensure the policy, regulatory and funding frameworks are in place to build and grow a world-leading UK CCS sector.' Graeme Davies, executive vice-president at Harbour Energy, which is leading the Viking project, said the commitment in the spending review 'sends a strong signal' that the project is 'an infrastructure-led economic growth priority' for the Parliament. He added: 'We will work with Government on the critical steps needed to progress Viking CCS towards a final investment decision.' However climate campaigners at Friends of the Earth said the money should instead be invested in public transport, energy efficiency and measures to support oil workers to transition to jobs in the renewables sector. Caroline Rance, head of campaigns at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: 'This is an enormous handout of supposedly scarce public money that will only directly benefit greedy oil and gas companies. 'Politicians are paying hundreds of millions to keep us locked into an unaffordable energy system which is reliant on fossil fuels and is destroying the climate. 'Carbon capture technology has 50 years of failure behind it, so businesses, workers and the public are being sold a lie about its role in their future. 'Building new fossil fuel infrastructure will undermine the energy transition and embolden oil firms to keep on drilling in the North Sea. 'Both the UK and Scottish governments should instead be backing climate solutions that can improve people's lives such as upgrading public transport, ensuring people live in warm homes and creating green jobs for the long-term.'
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Acorn carbon capture project to get £200m, Miliband confirms
UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has confirmed that £200m will be provided to progress the Acorn Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) scheme in Aberdeenshire. Miliband - who has been visiting the St Fergus gas terminal where the project will be based - said he had told the company behind the project that he expected it to make a final investment decision by the end of the parliament. He said he wanted to see significant progress "by the turn of the decade" but would not commit to a firm timetable. Environmental group Friends of the Earth, which is sceptical about carbon capture, said the "scarce public money" would only directly benefit "greedy oil and gas companies". The investment in the Acorn Project comes as part of the UK government's spending review which will increase Holyrood's budget by £2.9bn a year on average. As part of his announcement, Miliband added that a Scottish Labour government would deliver new nuclear power in Scotland. Acorn has said its project will safeguard about 18,000 jobs that would otherwise have been lost, including jobs at Grangemouth. CO2 captured at Grangemouth will be transported to storage facilities under the North Sea, avoiding its release into the atmosphere. The jobs will be needed to build pipelines to transport the CO2 safely and generate low-carbon power to homes and businesses. The UK government is providing similar funding for the Viking carbon capture project in the Humber. Miliband said: "This government is putting its money where its mouth is and backing the trailblazing Acorn and Viking CCS projects. "This will support industrial renewal in Scotland and the Humber with thousands of highly-skilled jobs at good wages to build Britain's clean energy future. "Carbon capture will make working people in Britain's hard-working communities better off, breathing new life into their towns and cities and reindustrialising the country through our Plan for Change." Scotland to get extra £2.9bn from spending review, says Treasury Acorn Project funding to be announced in spending review Tim Stedman, chief executive of Storegga, lead developer of Acorn, said: "We warmly welcome the UK government's support for the Acorn project and the commitment to development funding that will enable the critical work needed to reach Final Investment Decision (FID)." He said the funding announcement was a "milestone" and was on top of significant private sector investment. "We look forward to working with government in the months ahead to understand the details of today's commitment, and to ensure the policy, regulatory and funding frameworks are in place to build and grow a world-leading UK CCS sector," he added. Once Acorn and Viking are operational, combined, it has been claimed they could prevent up to 18 million tonnes of CO2 being released into the atmosphere each year. Those involved in the CCS schemes say they can also play a role in low-carbon power and hydrogen production, supporting thousands of jobs. Dr Liz Cameron, chief executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said: "The government's backing for the Acorn Project is a significant endorsement which will help to make the north east a world leader in the low-carbon industry. "This major carbon capture and storage facility puts us on an ecologically more sustainable trajectory and will bolster the region's economy by creating up to 15,000 jobs in construction and attracting billions in private investment. "Whilst this intervention is undoubtedly welcome, we urge both the UK and Scottish governments to work in collaboration to realise Acorn's potential in full." Caroline Rance, head of campaigns at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: "This is an enormous handout of supposedly scarce public money that will only directly benefit greedy oil and gas companies. "Politicians are paying hundreds of millions to keep us locked into an unaffordable energy system which is reliant on fossil fuels and is destroying the climate. "Carbon capture technology has 50 years of failure behind it, so businesses, workers and the public are being sold a lie about its role in their future." She said building new fossil fuel infrastructure would undermine the energy transition and embolden oil firms to continue drilling in the North Sea. "Both the UK and Scottish governments should instead be backing climate solutions that can improve people's lives such as upgrading public transport, ensuring people live in warm homes and creating green jobs for the long-term," she added.
