THE partners behind the North East Scotland Green Freeport bid have written to Rishi Sunak and urged him to back the region.
The letter urges the Prime Minister to back the North East Scotland Green Freeport and, in doing so, deliver maximum energy and economic security as the country transitions to net zero. For the last fifty years, through good times and bad, the region’s oil and gas expertise has delivered an abundant source of energy and tax revenue, contributing massively to the economic prosperity of the country.
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With Green Freeport status, North East Scotland can repeat this industrial and economic feat with the acceleration of low carbon and renewable energies, creating new innovative and pioneering powerhouse industries, and generating 32,000 high-quality jobs and opportunities for those that need them most.
The letter also stated :
“The transition from oil and gas towards clean energy production in the North East has inevitably led to skilled workers seeking employment out with our region. A Green Freeport would reverse this displacement by creating thousands of high-quality, green jobs and reskilling and upskilling the regional workforce. It would stimulate significant levels of regeneration across the region, levelling up deprived communities and accelerating a just transition overall.
Owing to our energy heritage, the North East of Scotland is without doubt one the world’s most attractive locations to invest in low carbon technologies.
This region is home to 75% of the world’s subsea capability and over a thousand energy supply chain companies – the critical mass of skills and infrastructure required to accelerate our transition to new energies.
The opportunities here are huge. 70% of the ScotWind licences awarded, totalling a massive 18 GW of offshore wind power, are within 100 nautical miles of Aberdeen and Peterhead. 14GW of this is floating wind, a sector in which Scotland and the UK can achieve a competitive advantage to become global market leaders.
Furthermore, the waters off the coast of Peterhead are one of the most cost-effective locations to accelerate carbon capture and storage and there is significant untapped potential linked to these activities in green and blue hydrogen.
Aberdeen’s brand new £400m South Harbour expansion and the Port of Peterhead both provide 24-hour non-tidal access and deep-water facilities on the East Coast and are poised to support the next generation of low carbon energy developments together.
Crucially, a successful Green Freeport bid will accelerate the Scottish Cluster at St Fergus, effectively helping to offset the delay from the UK Government’s previous decision not to allocate it track 1 status. It would open a window of opportunity to develop a world leading position for a comprehensive range of energy transition activities such as hydrogen production, sustainable aviation fuels and direct air capture.
The months and years ahead may be stormy, but our North East ports are ever reliable in an economic storm.
For the last fifty years, through good times and bad, our oil and gas expertise has delivered an abundant source of energy and tax revenue, contributing massively to the economic prosperity of the country.
With Green Freeport status, we can repeat this industrial and economic feat with the acceleration of low carbon and renewable energies, creating new innovative and pioneering powerhouse industries.
Please support this region to help tackle one of the big issues which will define your premiership, and in turn, we will deliver maximum energy and economic security as we transition to net zero.”
