Deb Haaland, the US Secretary of the Interior, has visited SSE’s Peterhead Power Station in Aberdeenshire to learn about the innovative low-carbon solutions being developed in the North-East of Scotland.
Secretary Haaland is part of a US delegation in Scotland for COP26 and visited Peterhead to get an insight into progress being made on carbon capture and storage (CCS), as well as offshore wind, as the US Government explores the potential for these technologies at home.
Taking a site tour, Secretary Haaland was briefed on SSE’s plans with Equinor to develop a new low-carbon power station at the Peterhead site, which would be one of the UK’s first equipped with CCS technology. Situated on Scotland’s east coast, Peterhead is ideally placed for CCS, with access to the essential CO2 transport and storage infrastructure being progressed in the region by the Acorn Project.
As part of her visit, Secretary Haaland also met with several young apprentices who have recently launched their careers at Peterhead Power Station, as the site looks towards a low-carbon future. In 2020, SSE became the first company to publish a Just Transition Strategy, designed to maximise the social and economic opportunities of the net zero transition, and support workers moving from high-carbon to low-carbon careers.
Following this, Secretary Haaland travelled to Peterhead Port to learn about Scotland’s world-leading offshore wind sector. This included an overview of Seagreen, Scotland's largest offshore wind farm, which is being constructed by SSE Renewables and TotalEnergies off the coast of Angus.
"CCS will play a vital role in decarbonising the flexible power generation we need to back up Scotland’s world-leading offshore wind capacity. I’m hugely proud that the projects we are developing with Equinor are of global interest, and it was a privilege to welcome Secretary Haaland to Peterhead to take a closer look at the work we are doing.
Stephen Wheeler Managing Director of SSE Thermal
The UK has an opportunity during COP26 and beyond to showcase the progress it has made when it comes to climate action. During her visit to Peterhead, Secretary Haaland showed real interest in learning about our experience to date with offshore wind and CCS as the US Government considers the potential of these technologies across the pond."