Exclusive:Fears Scotland's first carbon capture site will miss out as hubs in England 'consume all the money'

Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) said there were concerns that two projects in the north of England will "consume all of the money available".

The proposed facility in St Fergus, near Peterhead in Aberdeenshire, previously missed out on government funding to sites in Merseyside and Teesside. 

The SNP accused UK ministers of prioritising projects in England and offering the Scottish Acorn project "no certainty at all". 

And on Wednesday, Shona Robison, the Scottish finance secretary, said she was "disappointed" it was not mentioned in the UK Budget.

Speaking to The Scotsman, Mike Tholen, OEUK’s sustainability and policy director, said the UK government was right to “get going on something, because we have to”.

He said: "We're cracking on with something, which is good. And they are quite big somethings, so that's a good place to start. 

"The concern, I think, Acorn has is that the current two projects could actually consume all of the money available, and there wouldn't then be funding to pursue the other things. 

"So we're lockstep alongside Acorn in both looking at the funding mechanisms and looking at the opportunities to try and nudge the British government to keep going with the track two projects, of which it's one."

Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) is a technology that captures the emissions from burning fuels for energy or from industrial processes such as cement production, and uses or transports them for storage permanently underground – for example, in disused oil fields under the sea.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer previously announced two “carbon capture clusters” in Merseyside and Teesside will be developed over the next 25 years at a cost of almost £22 billion.

But the SNP criticised the UK government’s “clumsy and clueless approach” after it failed to offer any certainty for the proposed Acorn facility at St Fergus.

Asked if he wanted to see further clarity, Mr Tholen said: "It isn't the only project that's up in the air. We certainly would like to see further clarity on that.

"I know the government would say we've not forgotten them, we're trying to get the first ones moving and they're next in the queue. I'm pretty confident they'd say that.

"We want to understand what the nature of the offering will be nearly as much as Acorn would if they get to the front of the queue.

"So it's a case both of keeping on top of this, looking at the financing models that will be needed for Acorn, and just frankly keep gnawing at the government on it.”

A spokeswoman for the UK government’s department for energy security and net zero said: “Acorn has already received over £40m for development and it is our firm ambition to proceed with the projects in the track two clusters.

“Scotland is at the forefront of the drive towards net zero and clean energy, with Great British Energy's headquarters to be located in Aberdeen.

“Our historic funding for two initial carbon capture clusters is just the first step in developing a self-sustaining market for the industry.”