In the first ever Member Guest Blog, Tom Snow of the Peterhead Carbon Capture Project looks back to the NECCUS visit to the Plant in July 2024.
Please read the article listening to: Madame Butterfly – Maria Callas – Puccini – (Subtitles: Italian and English) (youtube.com)
A group of industrial pilgrims stood at the highest point of the Scotstoun Dunes. To the South of them they could see the imposing stacks of Peterhead Power Station on the horizon. To their North the flares of St Fergus gas import station flickered in the distance. 500m to their West the Miller Gas Line stood dormant and purged under Nitrogen. One of the pilgrims approached what they thought was a rock on the dunes only for it to spring into life as a baby seal. The baby seal waddled off in an Easterly direction into the gentle waves of the North Sea. Where were this group of industrial pilgrims travelling to and who were they honouring? To Fraserburgh and the birth place garden of Thomas Blake Glover – The Scottish Samurai.
Glover was born on June 6, 1838. His early years were spent in this rapidly expanding fishing and trading port where his coastguard father instilled a sense of adventure and curiosity. Of course his father could never have predicted that these attributes would steer Thomas all the way to the far east. When Glover left school he became a shipping clerk in Aberdeen and then in 1857 he was deployed to Shanghai working for Jardine, Matheson and Co. Just 2 years later, at the tender age of 21, Glover crossed from Shanghai to Nagasaki. His mission? To explore uncharted waters of trade and opportunity. Initially buying Japanese green tea, he soon founded his own firm, Glover and Co.in Nagasaki where his home stands as a testament to his legacy – a bridge between cultures and eras. This western-style building is now a highly valued tourist attraction which SSE Thermal’s James Bowers, Tom Snow, Xiaomian Baxter and Ronnie Glen accompanied by Mitsubishi’s Mitsuro Suehiro had the opportunity to visit in March 2023 as part of an SSE delegation visiting Mitsubishi’s facilities.
Before we delve into Glover’s relationship with Mitsubishi, it is important to understand more of the historical context. The Bakumatsu period in late 19th century Japan was saturated by anti-Western sentiment due to the unbalanced treaty agreements with the separate feudal shogunates. However, despite his own European heritage, Glover succeeded in building relationships and then supplying arms to the disparate factions. Between 1866 – 1869 conflict between these shogunates led to the Meiji Restoration of the emperor. His commercial actions were both daring and controversial as they violated treaties and laws and yet paved the way for the Restoration and industrial revolution in Japan. Glover’s canny and comprehensive knowledge of international business made him a natural candidate to advise Mitsubishi, a company founded in 1870. He performed this invaluable role until his death in Tokyo, in 1911.
Let us turn our attention to the present. Just as Glover arrived in Nagasaki at a period of change, we too are at such a cross roads. We have a new government, and we are on the cusp of a low carbon industrial revolution. Glover’s spirit lives on as Scotland looks to de-carbonise its industry through the Acorn Project’s proposed CO₂ Transport and Storage Systems. The Peterhead CCS Power Station is a key early phase CO₂ emitter to Acorn making use of Mitsubishi’s cutting-edge power station and carbon capture technology. Mitsubishi have returned to the birthplace of one of its most influential advisors – Thomas Blake Glover. ‘Jigou jitoku’. ‘What goes around comes around (You reap what you sow)’. Glover supported Japan’s emerging industrial revolution and now Mitsubishi is supporting Glover’s Scotland with its low carbon industrial revolution.
We re-join the Industrial Pilgrims at the start of their NECCUS Peterhead Site Visit journey – The Buchan Braes Hotel on Thursday July 18th 2024. The Pilgrims arrived to the back drop of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, (allegedly influenced by a relationship Thomas Blake Glover had with a Japanese Geisha). Presentations were given by SSE, Equinor and Storegga on the Peterhead Carbon Capture Power Station and its integration with the Scottish CO₂ cluster and Mitsubishi giving more details on their relationship with Thomas Blake Glover.
The Pilgrims then embarked on a power station perimeter fence tour led by Ben Dickson (SSE Thermal) to see at first hand the proposed site of the new Peterhead Carbon Capture Power Station followed by the aforementioned Scotstoun dunes walk. They then travelled by coach to Glover’s Birthplace Garden for a well earned fish supper from Glover & Co Fish Bar. A ceremonial Acer shrub was planted in honour of Thomas Blake Glover by a Peterhead Power Station Project Team consisting of James Bowers (SSE), Bente Johannessen (Equinor), Craig Trail (Worley) and Ryo Yamada (Mitsubishi) whilst Ewan Dorris (SSE) recited the following haiku:
Kintsugi
Future builds on past
Young minds learn from the wise ones
North looks East for dawn
A fantastic time was had by all and special thanks should be passed on to the local community suppliers who supported the event Buchan Braes Hotel, Millbank Coaches and the Glover Fish Bar.
