New Peterhead power station pollution much higher than plans suggest, claim environmental campaigners

Campaigners are urging the Scottish Government to reject plans for a new power station in Aberdeenshire, claiming pollution from the development will be much higher than plans suggest.

Friends of the Earth Scotland, Oil Change International, and Stop Climate Chaos Scotland are among 29 groups that have signed a letter to the First Minister calling on developers to conduct a new environmental assessment.

The new plant would be built next to the existing Peterhead station, and utilise carbon capture technology in a bid to reduce emissions.

Research published by the non-profit group Carbon Tracker found that the project’s climate emissions could be five times higher than reported in official planning application documents.

Campaigners say SSE and Equinor failed to account for the pollution created by extraction and transportation of the gas to be burned on site, or pollution produced when the carbon capture plant wasn’t working.

Friends of the Earth Scotland climate campaigner Alex Lee said: “Ministers should be demanding the climate truth about the Peterhead gas project.

“Research has exposed how the official planning documents are riddled with selective carbon accounting and wildly optimistic forecasts.

“The Scottish Government’s lack of curiosity is astounding for a project that could be driving climate pollution and energy bills for the next 30 years.

“New fossil fuel burning will critically undermine the energy transition and make it even harder for the Scottish Government to meet its climate commitments.”

Since February 2022, the Scottish Government has been considering an application from SSE and Equinor to build a new gas-burning station with carbon capture next to the existing station.

Climate campaigners have previously accused ministers of repeated breaches of the Ministerial Code in relation to their mishandling of the application and repeated meetings with the developers.

They say that if approved, the Peterhead gas proposal would also lock Scottish households into paying energy prices set by international gas markets, prone to external shocks such as the war in Ukraine.

Rosemary Harris, senior campaigner at Oil Change International said: “The UK has thrown £500m of public money at carbon capture schemes that have delivered absolutely nothing.

“This isn’t an accident – it’s a pattern. With 80% of CCS projects worldwide either failing or stalled, the fossil fuel industry’s promises aren’t just empty, they’re expensive.

“Every pound wasted on these failed schemes is a pound stolen from real climate solutions. We don’t need more costly experiments – we need proven, working solutions like renewable energy that can deliver for our communities today.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “It would not be appropriate to comment on a live application.

“A decision will be taken by ministers in due course, following consideration of the application information, consultation responses and representations made by members of the public.”