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Why it won’t be easy to wean Fife Mossmorran plant off fossil fuels

Mossmorran petrochemical plant in Fife.
The Mossmorran petrochemical plant in Fife. Image: Steve Brown/DC Thomson.

A new report has identified ‘substantial barriers’ to weaning Mossmorran chemical plant in Fife off fossil fuels.

Scottish Greens say planning should start “as soon as possible” to “decarbonise” Shell and ExxonMobil’s works near Cowdenbeath.

But their report, titled A Meaningfully Just Transition for Mossmorran, lays out the obstacles to reducing emissions from the site.

And it comes with the warning that should the site be converted for other technologies, workers and the community would have to be involved in the process.

“Otherwise, the community connected to the Mossmorran plants risk being left behind once again.”

What is Mossmorran?

Mossmorran processes the by products of household gas production.

Methane for our gas cookers is separated out at St Fergus terminal near Peterhead.

The rest is piped to Shell’s Fife NGL Plant at Mossmorran, where ethane, propane, gasoline and butane are separated.

Ethane from this stage goes next door to ExxonMobil’s Fife Ethylene Plant. It is converted into ethylene – used to make plastic for products including food packaging and medical equipment.

All this produces about a million tonnes of greenhouse gasses a year.

What are the options?

An ExxonMobil spokesperson said the company was “actively working” with the Scottish Cluster – a partnership of agencies and organisations across various sectors campaigning for the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies.

The aim is to “explore potential solutions that could help lower future emissions” from Mossmorran.

He added: “It is widely acknowledged that CCS, which was first deployed in the 1970s, will be an essential technology.”

But the Greens do not back carbon capture – where carbon emissions would be injected into reservoirs under the North Sea – as an option for Mossmorran.

They say factors such as “competition from other industrial sites for limited storage facilities” could rule this out.

Instead, the report says “investigating other options for decarbonisation at Mossmorran” is a better idea.

Options including using less carbon-heavy hydrogen as a fuel.

However the Commons Science and Technology Committee recently said hydrogen was no “panacea” in the journey to net zero.

The Green’s report called for planning to consider various options including conversion of the site for other uses to “begin as soon as possible”.

Meanwhile, it listed the “substantial barriers” to weaning Mossmorran off carbon.

“Public investment available for industrial decarbonisation so far is not at the scale that will be required,” said the report.

In addition there was said to be “mistrust amongst unions and workers” that promised “quality green jobs” just won’t materialise.

Could the community be ‘left behind’ again?

Together, the Shell and ExxonMobil plants at Mossmorran employ 250 people.

During short term contracts, many more workers are brought in.

The report said any plans should “involve Mossmorran workers and the local community at its heart.

“Otherwise, the community connected to the Mossmorran plants risk being left behind once again.”

Mark Ruskell MSP is the Scottish Greens’ climate and energy spokesperson.

Scottish Green MSP Mark Ruskell. Image: supplied/Scottish Greens.

“Mossmorran has been a living nightmare for residents who for far too long have felt under siege from their noisy neighbour with its Mordor-esque flaring and fears over safety while also being Scotland’s third largest climate polluter,” said the Green MSP.

Despite the challenges he believes there are “clear possible future pathways to a decarbonised Mossmorran and all the benefits that would bring, if the current operators, workers, government and communities commit to engaging meaningfully.”

The ExxonMobil spokesperson added: “ExxonMobil seeks to be a leader in society’s drive for a lower-carbon future.

“We are committed to meeting the demand for energy and providing the products society needs, while reducing emissions and managing the risks of climate change.”

Conversation