This week in Westminster, I will lead a debate on the proposed Peak Cluster project – a 125 mile pipeline which will capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from cement and lime plants in Derbyshire and Staffordshire, pressurise it, then transfer it across Cheshire and off the coast via the Wirral to be stored in depleted gas fields under the seabed.
I’ve opposed the line since it was first proposed. The business case does not work and it has the potential to be an environmental disaster causing untold damage to lots of sites of scientific interest, agricultural land and some of our towns and villages. There are also very significant safety concerns at the devastation that would be caused if there were a leak.
I previously held a public meeting in Byley on the issue and continue to be contacted by large numbers of constituents who are rightly worried about the proposals. My petition calling for government to block the proposals has now surpassed 2,000 signatures. Last week I raised the issue (again) with government ministers during Common’s Environment Questions. I asked what discussions had been had with international counterparts on Peak Cluster given its widely thought C02 will be imported from other countries and pumped through the line. It is one of many questions I have asked in recent weeks, including Written Parliamentary Questions as well as Freedom of Information requests trying to pin down facts, including the most basic of information including What is the cost? How much will fall on the taxpayer?
If this gets the go-ahead, it will be the world’s largest cement decarbonisation project, yet government alleges to have no answers.
Government claims that Peak Cluster has not been identified as one of the four CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage) projects for support through the government’s CCUS Cluster Sequencing process. Because of this, the overarching theme running through every response regardless of the question has been “information is not held”, “analysis not undertaken” and the “project is limited at this stage”.
Government say it is a privately funded venture, yet Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband announced the proposed project on gov.uk citing “Chancellor’s National Wealth Fund investment in major carbon capture project” describing it as a “landmark investment”. Which is it?
The National Wealth Fund is wholly owned by government and financed by taxation and borrowing – how is that not public money?
My constituents want and deserve answers, and I hope Wednesday’s debate will bring some much-needed clarity.
