Boris Johnson has been accused of being “an active barrier to renewable opportunities” after the decision to delay the carbon capture and storage project in Scotland.
SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford said the loss of funding for the Acorn project in Aberdeenshire was a “devastating blow” on the eve of the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow.
At Prime Minister’s Questions a hoarse-voiced Blackford described the decision to give the go-ahead to two projects in England over the Scottish site as “another broken Tory promise”.
Blackford told the Commons: "There is no acceptable excuse for this decision.
"We know this decision wasn’t technical and logical. This devastating decision was purely political Scotland’s north east was promised this investment in 2014. It is a promise that has been broken, time and time again.”
Blackford said the UK government was denying funding for the development of tidal energy and other shovel-ready projects like Acorn in Scotland.
Blackford urged the Prime Minister to guarantee a ring-fenced budget for tidal stream energy, in order to save the renewable industry from being lost overseas.
He said: “It’s bad enough that this UK Government is holding back carbon capture in Scotland, but, across the board, they are proving an active barrier to renewable energy opportunities.
“All this industry needs is a ring-fenced budget of £71 million, a drop in the ocean compared to the £23 billion that this Government is throwing at the nuclear plants."
Johnson said the SNP leader was being “too gloomy” about the prospects for the Acorn project.
The Prime Minister said: “The Acorn project still has strong potential.
"He should keep hope alive.
"I know that there was disappointment about the Acorn bid and that is why it has been selected as a reserve cluster.”
“I think there is not more vivid testimony to this government’s commitment to Scotland to fighting climate change, that the whole world is about to come to Scotland to look at what Scotland is doing to help tackle climate change and I congratulate the people of Scotland on their efforts.”
To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here.
