Consent has been granted by the Scottish Government for a new gas-fired power station with carbon capture at Peterhead.
The Peterhead Carbon Capture Power Station is expected to generate around 900 to 910 megawatts of electricity and is designed to capture at least 90% of its carbon emissions.
The joint venture between SSE and Norway’s Equinor, could create around 1,000 jobs during construction and bring dozens of permanent roles once it’s up and running.
A further report puts its value to the north-east economy at about £60 million.
It will be built on land beside SSE’s existing Peterhead Power Station, a 1,180MW “flexible” gas plant that has operated since 1982 and is the last fossil-fuel power station in Scotland.
The old station was expected to close by 2030 but is now expected to run until at least the mid-2030s, the SSE confirmed.
The plant is expected to serve as a cornerstone for the Acorn carbon capture and storage (CCS) project, which has faced a run of setbacks. These include the closure of the Grangemouth refinery, formerly Scotland’s largest carbon polluter, and the loss of emissions from Mossmorran.
Acorn’s key technology partner, Storegga, has also announced plans to sell its stake, with no buyer yet found. Shell and Harbour Energy are among the other investors.
Finlay McCutcheon, managing director of SSE Thermal, called the consent “an important milestone” for a project that could deliver flexible, low-carbon electricity to support a renewables-led energy system while sustaining jobs in the north-east.
He said the plant is an anchor project for the wider Scottish cluster, with further progress at Peterhead depending on that cluster being delivered.
SSE will now study the decision in detail.
John Underhill, Aberdeen University’s director for energy transition, said the decision shows the Scottish Government accepts that gas will remain a vital part of the energy mix for decades, provided its emissions are captured and stored. He said it also gives Acorn a lifeline by providing a new source of emissions to store, and that the plant would supply useful baseload power as existing gas and nuclear stations are retired.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said impacts on communities, nature and cultural heritage, including cumulative effects, were important considerations. The consent letter states that ministers are satisfied the environmental impacts were assessed.