Closure For Longannet

It's been confirmed by Scottish Power that Longannet Power Station in Fife will close next year.

The firm made the announcement after failing to win a contract from the National Grid.

The £15 million deal has been handed over to Peterhead Power Station.

There's now uncertainty for up to 1, 000 workers who are employed directly and indirectly at Longannet.

Dunfermline and West Fife MP Thomas Docherty said:  Today's announcement by Scottish Power is extremely disappointing news for the workforce, their families and the wider community around Kincardine. For six decades coal power stations have operated in Kincardine, powering hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses across Central Scotland. We have known for sometime that Longannet would cease generating due to the age of the Station, the decision by its owners not to make the necessary investment and the SNP’s obsession with renewables driving Longannet out of the Scottish market. However we must now focus all our efforts on helping the community to adapt.

"I welcome the announcement by Fife Council that they want to see a task force established immediately and I hope the SNP will now drop their opposition to this task force. I am therefore, along with Cara Hilton MSP calling on the Scottish Government to live up to their responsibilities to support these efforts."

Scottish Green MSP Patrick Harvie is renewing his call for the Scottish Government and Fife Council to develop a jobs plan in light of today's news that Longannet coal power station in Fife will close after failing to win a National Grid contract.

Patrick said: "Long before now the Scottish Government and Fife Council should have been drawing up a plan for jobs so that workers at the plant and the wider economy had a secure future. Given the unsustainable emissions from the plant, and the progress being made with renewables and grid upgrades, Longannet was always going to close.

"We urgently need to focus on developing new local employment, planning a transition for local workers and harnessing the potential from renewables and energy efficiency for the wider community."