Ministers must reject Peterhead gas plans after climate pollution triples
Campaigners and the public are urging Scottish Government to reject controversial plans for a new gas burning power station in Peterhead as a public consultation closes (8/7/24) on the project.
The consultation was required because the developer SSE revealed that the climate pollution caused by the project would be almost three times higher than it had previously disclosed in its planning application submitted to Ministers in 2022.
30 organisations including Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, UCU Scotland and Fuel Poverty Action, along with over 1600 members of the public, formally objected to the plans saying it would jeopardise Scotland’s net zero targets in 2045.
Lifetime emissions caused by the project soared from 6.3 million tonnes to 17.1 million tonnes after SSE were forced to include the climate changing emissions from extracting and transporting the gas to be burned at the Peterhead site.
Carbon capture technology does not seek to address these upstream emissions and instead only tries to capture pollution from the combustion of the gas – which SSE concede accounts for less than half of the project’s climate impact.
Friends of the Earth Scotland’s oil and gas campaigns manager Rosie Hampton said:
“Scottish Ministers must use their powers and say no to SSE’s Peterhead project which aims to burn expensive, polluting gas for the next 25 years or more. This power station will undermine the transition to renewable power and keep household electricity bills chained to volatile gas prices.
“This energy giant has been shamed into admitting that its plans create nearly three times more climate wrecking emissions than feared. Even these extreme pollution figures are likely to be an underestimate because its carbon capture technology will inevitably fail as it has done everywhere else it has been tested.
“Ministers must say no to new gas and instead support climate solutions that we know work today and improve lives – upgrading public transport, insulating homes and creating green jobs in credible industries with a secure future.”
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
About the Peterhead gas burning power station proposals:
In 2022 SSE and Equinor submitted a planning application for a new gas burning power station with carbon capture plant at Peterhead, Aberdeenshire. The application is for an additional plant alongside the existing Peterhead gas burning power station, which SEPA figures have shown is repeatedly amongst Scotland’s biggest polluters.
The development poses a significant risk to Scotland’s climate commitments and will undermine a just transition for workers and communities. The Scottish Government will make the decision whether to approve this project and lock households into reliance on fossil fuels for energy for the next 25+ years.
Friends of the Earth Scotland objection to the project (7/7/25)
https://foe.scot/resource/objection-to-peterhead-gas-project/
Letter signed by NGOs including a list of signatories
https://foe.scot/resource/ngo-objection-to-peterhead-gas-planning-application/
Over 1660 people emailed the Scottish Government’s Energy Consent Unit to register their objections to the planning application
https://act.foe.scot/object_peterhead
Bid to stop taxpayer-backed gas power plant as pollution ratings soar, The Herald, (11/6/25)
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/25228830.bid-stop-taxpayer-backed-gas-power-plant-pollution-ratings-soar/
Research by independent experts Carbon Tracker in October 2024 previously revealed climate pollution from the proposed Peterhead gas burning power station and carbon capture plant could be five times higher than the developers SSE and Equinor disclosed to the Scottish Government.
https://foe.scot/press-release/peterhead-power-station-5-times-more-climate-pollution-than-developers-admitted/
Free to use press quality photos from the Peterhead campaign:
https://flickr.com/photos/friendsoftheearthscotland/albums/72177720324211319/
13,000 people also signed a petition to the Scottish Government urging them to reject the proposals (October 2024)
https://foe.scot/press-release/13000-people-urge-the-scottish-government-to-reject-new-gas-power-station-in-peterhead/
All documents associated with the planning application are available at https://www.energyconsents.scot/ApplicationDetails.aspx?cr=ECU00003433
++ New Environmental Impact Assessment by SSE
Planning application > Documents > Additional Information.
The relevant data on lifetime climate emissions is “Additional Information Report 2025” – in Table 18-23 & 18-24 – approx page 108 of the p155 pdf
Total Lifetime Operational Emissions 16,451,904 tonnes CO2e
Gross Operational phase, total lifetime emissions (includes construction, worker commute, waste disposal emissions) 17,070,241 tonnes CO2e
++ Original Environmental Impact Assessment by SSE
Planning application > Documents > Application Documents
The original data on lifetime climate emissions is in “EIA Report – Volume 2 – Chapter 18 – Climate Change” in tables 18-24 & 18-25 – approx page 39 of p60 pdf
Lifetime emissions to atmosphere 5,630,940 tonnes CO2e
Gross Operations phase (includes construction, worker commute, waste disposal emissions), total lifetime emissions 6,249,277 tonnes CO2e