Politicians' views on Ayrshire Power's proposed coal-fired power station at Hunterston

Susan Boyack MSP (Labour)

Labout has signalled that it will block controversial plans for a new coal-fired power station if it wins power in Scotland next year.
The party's shadow environment minister Sarah Boyack has effectively ruled-out approving plans for the power station at Hunterston, Ayrshire if Labour returns to government at Holyrood

Scottish Labour conference: Controversial power station faces the axe (1 Nov 2010)

Katy Clark MP (Labour)

North Ayrshire and Arran MP Katy Clark (Labour) is supporting the decision by campaigners to take legal action over the lack of consultation against Ayrshire Power's proposed Coal Plant.

MP supports Legal Action

Ross Finnie MSP (Lib/Dem)

Ross Finnie, LiberalDemocrat MSP (West of Scotland): “Hunterston is not the way forward for Carbon Capture technology, as while you are trialling the new technology up to 1552 MW of new emissions will be blasted into the atmosphere that could amount to 8 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per annum.”

Hunterston not the way forward for carbon capture
Finnie wants parliamentary debate on Hunterston Coal Plant

Kenneth Gibson MSP(SNP)

Kenneth Gibson SNP MSP for Cunninghame North said "MSPs have looked at the arguments for and against Hunterston coal and decided that carbon capture and storage is unproven on a large scale. Development should take place on a more appropriate site such as Longannet. Ayrshire Power should cut their losses and not proceed."

Ayrshire Power should quit now

Patrick Harvie MSP (Green)

Partick Harvie, Green Party MSP for Glasgow said: "There is a real energy gap - Scotland could be powered almost six times over by renewable energy, yet Ministers of all parties have stuck religiously to dead end technologies like nuclear and coal."

New blow to coal plans at Hunterston

Lewis Macdonald MSP (Labour)

Scottish Labour Energy spokeman, Lewis Macdonald says,"a new plant at Hunterston now is the wrong technology in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Power station would undermine commitments on climate change

Rt Hon. Alex Salmond (SNP, First Minister)

"'A Low Carbon Economic Strategy For Scotland', which was published on Monday, shows that between 52,000 and 95,000 new job opportunities can be created in the energy sector by 2020, with 10,000 of those jobs coming from CCS development."

First Minister's Question Time, Scottish Parliament debates, 18.11.2010 (full discussion)