Project Willow report predicts 800 green jobs could be created
PA MediaA long-awaited report says up to 800 jobs can be created on the Grangemouth site over the next 15 years, and Scotland’s only refinery will be closed.
The Scottish and UK government-funded project Willow Research provides nine regions for potential private investment in the green industry.
It says jobs can be created in areas such as sustainable aviation fuel, hydrogen production and plastic recycling.
Owner Petroineos is closing the lost refinery at Ford’s sprawling industrial complex, losing 400 jobs.
The report, by EY Consultant, lists nine potential uses for a wider website with approximately 2,000 employees.
The report says fuel used for shipping and electronic methanol, which is made of electronic wood, can create about 480 jobs – but that requires £6.6 billion in private investment and will not work until around 2035.
Plastic recycling can be done faster in five years, at a cost of around £600 million. It is estimated that about 250 jobs can be created.
The report calls on the UK government to propose market reforms in the power sector to reduce the cost of hydrogen production.
It said ministers should also encourage farmers to focus on plant products that can be turned into fuel.
PA MediaThe UK and Scottish governments have pledged £25 million and £25 million respectively to support new investments in Grangemouth.
British Energy Minister Michael Shanks promised to “no hesitation” when ensuring the future of the site.
He added: “We will build Grangemouth’s expertise and industrial heritage to attract investors, ensure the future of clean energy in the long term and realize our plans for change.”
Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney said: “Grangemouth has more than a century of industrial expertise and employs thousands of highly skilled workers, giving the site a huge competitive advantage and creating unique opportunities for investors.
“Everyone working in Grangemouth’s refinery and in the wider industrial cluster is a valuable employee with key skills in the Scottish economy and a net zero future.”
Even though we’ve been waiting for a few months, the Willow Project is just a starting rifle for what could happen to Grangemouth.
Matching ambition and reality is not easy. In fact, this has never really been achieved.
But there is a new sense of optimism among the big companies operating on this vast industrial complex, as the government is now taking what they can achieve seriously.
The report lists these options, but still requires billions of pounds of private cash. The decision on whether to spend money must guarantee the return on that investment.
Moving operations to other parts of the world, such as the Middle East, the United States and Australia, looks more favorable at the moment.
What the two governments are going to do next is crucial.
Cheap renewable electricity and regulatory reform are two key areas of identifying change.
The report talks about 800 potential new jobs, but the entire town relies on the green industry developed by Grangemouth, so it will be a key test of whether a fair and equitable transition can be truly achieved.
The Grangemouth Petroleum Refinery is one of the oldest refineries in the UK and was founded in 1924 by Scottish Petroleum, a subsidiary of Anglo Persian Petroleum, a pioneer of BP.
After World War II, the site developed into a wider petrochemical compound complex, and since the 1970s it dealt with an increasing amount of North Sea oil, brought south by the Forty Pipeline System.
But in 2020, the current owner of the refinery, Petrochina, a joint venture between Ineos and Petrochina, sealed some facilities, accusing the reduction of demand for road and jet fuel.
In November 2023, the company announced plans to completely close refineries and replace them with fuel import terminals.
