25th October 2021: A Week in Parliament

Private Members Bill

I will be presenting a private members bill to Parliament. The purpose of my bill is to make the UK Government force a review of the electricity grid charging framework and also end locational charges. The reason for me doing this is that at the moment Scotland faces the highest grid charges in the whole of Europe. It is outrageous and makes Scottish offshore windfarms 20% more expensive than English ones. The UK Government always argue it is a matter for Ofgem, but it is the UK Government that sets the rules for Ofgem. So, it is ridiculous they do not take responsibility. I know I will not be able to get the bill through parliament given it will go into a private members bill queue and logjam. However, anything that can be done to bring pressure for change is good.

Carbon Capture and Storage

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is deemed by the Committee on Climate Change and the International Energy Association to be pivotal in cutting carbon emissions. The most advanced project in the UK is the Scottish Cluster. If progressed it will store the carbon emissions from the two biggest polluters in Scotland – Peterhead Power Station and the Ineos facilities at Grangemouth. It will create a hydrogen production facility at St Fergus allowing it to be piped elsewhere in the UK. It also allows for upgrades at Peterhead harbour so that carbon dioxide can be transported from elsewhere in the UK for storage. Logically then this is one of the clusters that the UK Government should be progressing then. Instead, they have prioritised two projects in England – Hynet in the North West of England and the East Coast Cluster covering Teesside and Humber. These naked political decisions show this Tory Government do not care about Scotland. The Scottish Tories are actually happy that the Scottish Cluster is classed as a “reserve” which is pathetic.

European Marine Energy Centre

I was lucky to visit the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney. I was also supposed to be travelling offshore to see the Orbital O2 tidal wave power generator but the sea was too rough to allow that to happen. However, it was still great to engage and see and hear about how Scotland is literally leading the world in wave and tidal energy generation. Now at this stage, they have been able to be demonstrated as being able to reliably generate energy and are connected to the power grid at Orkney, they need support to get the next stage of scaling up. The Orbital O2 has 80% UK content and was the first vessel launched from Dundee in 40 years and could create thousands of jobs if backed. Sadly, yet again, the blocker is the UK Government. All they want is some money ringfenced in the forthcoming energy auction which the UK Government have refused. This risks the opportunities of these technologies. Being an opposition MP can be so frustrating. Being Energy Spokesperson can also be frustrating when I see the harm the UK Government is doing to the Scottish energy sector.