The SNP Government's credibility on energy matters has been undermined further by a nationalist big gun after ScottishPower provided a £1 billion reminder of the scale of the opportunities squandered by ministers.

As the wait for the delayed publication of the Government's revised plan for a 'Just Transition' from fossil fuels drags on, former Scottish National Party MP Tommy Sheppard has stoked controversy about its decision to put huge faith in carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS) technology.

First minister John Swinney said recently that CCUS could play a major role in Scotland's net zero future given the vast storage potential offered by former North Sea fields and opportunities to repurpose oil and gas infrastructure.

In the Green Industrial Strategy published in September Mr Swinney's cabinet identified carbon capture as one of five key areas in which Scotland was well placed to develop "internationally competitive clusters".

However, Mr Sheppard told campaigners that carbon capture plans were based on unproven technology and were simply an excuse to keep burning oil and gas in unsustainable quantities.

He made the claim as ScottishPower awarded a £1bn contract for the manufacture of windfarm blades to a plant in Hull.

READ MORE: SNP Government green jobs failure seen in English city's success

The contract will help support 1,300 jobs at the plant, which is helping to power growth in an area hit hard by the decline of the fishing industry.

Scotland has nothing comparable although former first minister Alex Salmond said the country would become the Saudi Arabia of the renewables industry. Successors repeated the claim that thousands of clean energy jobs were in the pipeline.

Mr Sheppard became MP for Edinburgh East after serving as a "major figure in the 2014 yes campaign" according to his web site.

He lost his seat to Labour's Chris Murray in the general election after the SNP's share of the constituency vote plunged.

Admitting he didn't get out much any more following the vote, Mr Sheppard was back in the........

© Herald Scotland