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The First Minister faced flack following the UK Government’s announcement it plans to funnel nearly £10 million into a pioneering hydrogen storage project in Glasgow and massive investment in Scottish tidal power. The Whitelee green hydrogen project will be located at Whitelee Windfarm, which is owned by ScottishPower. It will be the biggest hydrogen generation project of its type in the UK.<\/p>\n
The Government has pushed the project as “progress towards decarbonising the UK transport sector,” and one “putting Scotland at the forefront of the UK’s clean energy transition and supporting the city’s ambition to become net-zero by 2030.”<\/p>\n
Liam Kerr MSP, Scottish Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary Net Zero, Energy and Transport told Express.co.uk: “With commitment from the UK Government through their investment of nearly £10 million in projects like Whitelee Windfarm, Scotland is well placed to become a leading hydrogen producer.”<\/p>\n
Mr Kerr explained that by pursuing an independence agenda – which would cut off Scotland from UK Government funding, like that for Whitelee – Ms Sturgeon would hamstring an independent Scotland.<\/p>\n
He said: “The SNP Government must work with their UK counterparts or there is a threat to Scotland being left behind.”<\/p>\n
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He added: “The UK Government is leading on Scotland’s renewable sector, not the SNP.<\/p>\n
“Nicola Sturgeon needs to pick up the pace and stop squandering time we no longer have in the race to net zero.”<\/p>\n
Secretary of State for Scotland Alister Jack, in the funding announcement for Whitelee, said: “This tremendous investment at Whitelee Windfarm illustrates how serious the UK government is about supporting projects that will see us achieve net-zero by 2050.<\/p>\n
“In the weeks following COP26 in Glasgow, it has never been more important to champion projects like this one, which embraces new hydrogen technology while creating highly-skilled jobs.”<\/p>\n
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Ms Sturgeon has previously come under fire after she reiterated her objection to looking towards nuclear power as an option for decarbonising the UK’s energy supply.<\/p>\n
The First Minister vehemently opposes nuclear power as a tool in the net-zero crusade, rebuking it last week after being pressed by Labour to consider it as an alternative to fossil fuels post-COP26.<\/p>\n
She refused to back nuclear power at First Minister’s Questions in Holyrood, saying: “Renewables, hydrogen and carbon capture and storage provides the best pathway to net-zero by 2045 and will deliver the decarbonisation we need to see across industry, heat and transport.<\/p>\n
“We believe that nuclear power represents poor value for consumers.”<\/p>\n
DON’T MISS: Off the back of COP26 held on Ms Sturgeon’s home turf, Mr Kerr told Express.co.uk: “The Glasgow Pact was a historic moment that will pave the way to net-zero and could crucially signal the end of coal power.<\/p>\n He added: “Despite Nicola Sturgeon’s efforts to be centre of attention during COP26, she can’t hide from the SNP Government’s poor record on the environment – not least their failure to meet emissions targets for three years running.”<\/p>\n Mr Kerr continued to describe: “The UK has spent the last decade making great strides as a world leader in tackling climate change, while Scotland lags behind as the SNP obsess over independence and their grievances with the union.<\/p>\n On nuclear power, he added: “Nuclear energy plays an important role in meeting Scotland’s energy demands.”<\/p>\n Scottish Government statistics state that nuclear energy accounted for 42.8% of electricity generated in Scotland in 2016.<\/p>\n He added: “The Scottish Conservatives want to know how the First Minister plans to fulfil Scotland’s energy demands in the absence of the next generation of nuclear power stations.<\/p>\n “The future of thousands of Scottish jobs in the nuclear sector remains uncertain unless, and until, the SNP spell out their plans.”<\/p>\n
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