Sir Ian Wood, a leading figure in the energy transition, has called on the Prime Minister to intervene after one of the partners in a proposed carbon capture and storage project in Scotland said it is selling its stake.
The UK Government has pledged £200m for the Acorn project at St Fergus in Aberdeenshire but Storegga said its decision follows a “strategic review” of its business.
“As part of this, we are progressing a structured sales process for our portfolio of assets, including the sale of our interest in the Acorn CCS project,” said a spokesman.
“With Acorn approaching a more capital-intensive phase, and with both the UK and Scottish Governments signalling the importance of its timely delivery, we have concluded that a new long-term owner would be better placed to take the project forward.”
Acorn has said the project will safeguard around 18,000 jobs in the North Sea that would otherwise have been lost.
The project captures emissions from industrial sites before they reach the atmosphere, storing them under the North Sea.
National Gas – the company tasked with building the crucial pipeline feeding CO2 into St Fergus – said not a penny of the £200 million pledged by the UK government for the project has yet been released.
A UK Government spokesperson said: “This is a commercial decision for Storegga Ltd. UK Government remains committed to the Acorn project.”
Sir Ian Wood, chair of ETZ, said: “This news is deeply concerning for Scotland and the UK’s energy transition, and I urge the UK and Scottish Government to leave no stone unturned in their efforts to secure the future of Scotland’s only Carbon Capture Cluster.
“The Acorn project is a cornerstone of Scotland’s energy transition. Its strategic value lies not just in the thousands of jobs it will safeguard and create, but in its enormous potential to unlock further investment, drive innovation, and build a viable path to decarbonisation. It must now be supported to proceed.
“The situation is particularly acute across the North East of Scotland where we are losing jobs at an alarming rate. It is now incumbent on the Prime Minister, visiting Scotland today, to act decisively and end the existing windfall tax now particularly given, by their own admission, there is no windfall.
“This would secure the world-class jobs and company base that will be so vital in delivering the vast opportunities in renewables when they are available commercially and at scale. Government must take urgent action now to end the existing serious damage from the windfall tax.”
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