13,000 people urge the Scottish Government to reject new gas power station in Peterhead

Campaigners have handed in a petition to the Scottish Government urging them to reject the plans for a new gas burning power station in Peterhead. 

The petition, hosted by Friends of the Earth Scotland and 350.org and signed by over 13,000 people, was handed in at St Andrews House in Edinburgh yesterday (30 September). It states that the new development will undermine a just transition to renewable energy by extending our reliance on fossil fuels for another 25 years.  

The developers are energy companies SSE and Equinor who make huge profits from fossil fuels and this proposal is intended to prolong that pattern of exploitation of Scottish energy users. The carbon capture technology on which this project relies has not been proven at scale and there are serious concerns about its safety and its economic viability. 

Friends of the Earth Scotland has also previously demanded a formal investigation into Scottish Government Ministers’ mishandling of the Peterhead planning application, providing evidence accusing them of breaking the Ministerial Code on 27 occasions.  

Friends of the Earth Scotland oil and gas campaigner Freya Aitchison, who was present at the handing in of the petition, said: 

“The Scottish Government is already failing on its climate targets, but instead of stepping up and taking climate action, it is considering approving this hugely polluting new power station. Another gas plant at Peterhead will increase climate-wrecking emissions and keep the Scottish public locked into sky-high energy bills for decades to come.  

“Thousands of people are supporting this campaign and telling ministers to reject this controversial development and instead focus on the solutions that we know work, such as publicly owned renewable energy. Carbon capture has lengthy record of failure and is a dangerous distraction from the real work of reducing emissions and delivering a just transition for workers and communities.” 

Tommy Vickerstaff, 350.org UK Lead, said: 

“Increasing the investment and capacity of Scotland’s number one polluter is dangerous and unnecessary. We urge the Scottish government to reject these obsolete proposals and instead fund and support incredible renewable energy opportunities that are waiting to be unlocked across Scotland. Guaranteed retraining and support for Scotland’s existing oil and gas workers must also be part of these investments.”  

Bryce Goodall, an activist who is a signatory of the petition, said: 

“The last thing we need in Scotland is an expansion of a gas-fired power station at Peterhead which will do nothing to reduce people’s energy bills. Both myself and my mother’s bills have increased whilst support for most vulnerable is dwindling as we enter winter season. Instead, SSE and Equinor, if backed by the Scottish Government, want to keep our country locked into an expensive fossil-fuel energy system for the next 25 years or more. The science is clear, we should rapidly scaling up affordable, reliable renewable energy and certainly not falling for the false promises of carbon capture and storage which have been shown time and time again not to work.”