Clean energy technologies being developed in the north-east will be “vital” to meeting UK-wide net zero emissions targets by 2050, MPs have heard.
Environment Secretary Michael Gove said the carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) solutions being developed at the St Fergus Gas Terminal are “precisely” what is needed to meet recommendations by the Committee on Climate Change.
The Acorn CCUS project at St Fergus is being developed as part of the so-called “Scottish cluster” of CCUS infrastructure, storing emissions from the industrial complex at Grangemouth near Edinburgh.
Mr Gove, in response to a question from Banff and Buchan Tory MP David Duguid at Defra questions, said: “The work that is going on in St Fergus is work we are absolutely committed to supporting.
“It’s also the case that technological breakthroughs at institutions like Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen are precisely the sort of work that we should be getting behind.”
Mr Duguid, speaking outside the Commons, said: “This government is committed to CCUS playing an important role in meeting net zero emissions targets, across the UK.
“I am pleased the secretary of state has acknowledged that the Acorn project is showing promise.
“There are other clusters around the UK competing for UK Government support and investment and I am doing all I can to promote the Scottish cluster and make use of existing expertise and infrastructure in the north-east.”
