Nuclear industry says ScotGov green plans are 'fraud'

The Nuclear Industry Association says that a new nuclear revolution with Torness front and centre would bring in thousands of jobs and billions in investment to Scotland.

But they say that, while the Scottish Government's anti-nuclear policy is in place, a new Torness nuclear plant would never start until possibly four other projects in England and Wales get under way.

And they warn that, with no nuclear, power will "inevitably" have to be imported from England when Scotland is short of power due to "unreliable"  renewable sources such as wind and solar which are  dependent on the weather.

It comes after the lifetime of the Torness nuclear power station was extended to 2030.

Previously, it had been announced that the power station, which employs about 550 full-time EDF employees alongside more than 180 full-time contract partners, would stop generating power in 2028.

But the future of nuclear in Scotland has been nipped in the bud, with the NIA fiercely critical of the First Minister for being "hopelessly ideological and anti-science" after he said last year that he was "not a fan" of the business and he "never have and never will" support investment in such power plants.

John Swinney had been responding to calls to lift the ban on nuclear, as fears grew over hundreds of jobs being lost and skilled workers leaving Scotland for overseas.

But the NIA strongly criticised his comments, telling the First Minister that he was "setting his face against reality" and that Scotland's nuclear power stations had saved more carbon "by far" than "any other source in the nation's history".

GMB Scotland had made a direct appeal about the future of nuclear to Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes after Hunterston B nuclear power workers' representative David Ferguson issued a warning to colleagues about the decline of nuclear and the loss of skills.

Kate Forbes Mr Swinney had said that the country should "focus on creating clean, green, renewable energy resources".

But Tom Greatrex, chief executive of the NIA argues that Torness could and should be the starting point for new nuclear that he claims would create thousands of jobs and generate billions in investment to Scotland.

The former Labour MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West, who was shadow energy minister for nearly four years, says it can only happen if the Scottish Government ideology changes. 

He said that opponents of a Torness B proposed there was no new nuclear in Scotland, which he said would lead to an "inevitable" shortage of power that would have to be imported from south of the Border, which he said meant "jobs for England, not for Scotland".

"The Scottish Government's fraud to the people of Scotland is its 100 per cent renewables energy policy which completely discounts the only source of clean power that is available 24/7 purely based on ideology. More and more countries are turning to nuclear as part of a global trend because they know it's the only viable path to energy security and a secure economy," he said.

"Torness should be at the heart of Scotland's clean power plans alongside renewables because it would create thousands of good, skilled, well-paid jobs, revitalising its industrial heartlands, and bring billions in investment to the Scottish economy.

"Because of the Scottish Government's no-nuclear policy, it means that projects in England and Wales have a head start, but it's not too late, because a new Scottish nuclear project would benefit from all the learnings from those projects, adding to the already world-class nuclear expertise is has and keep those workers in Scotland rather than losing jobs south.

"That is all possible with one policy change based on science and facts, on common sense rather than ideology. Scotland has benefited from nuclear for over six decades, and still does today, but before long it will lose it all.

"Importing nuclear from England will prop up the grid, but if Scotland wants the enormous economic shot in the arm that nuclear brings, then it needs to build its own new stations."

He claimed that the "anti-nuclear ideology" would leave "Torness like Longannet coal station, the Ravenscraig steelworks, the Greenock dry dock, relics of an industrial past and a bitter reminders of a future foreclosed by a lack of vision".

RavenscraigHe added: "We can choose a different way: long-term investment starting today, in jobs, in 24/7 clean power, in opportunity for our children and for coming generations; a bet not on the weather, but on the skill, ingenuity and commitment of the Scottish people to deliver. That is a bet I would take any day."

According to the NIA, Scotland’s nuclear power stations have generated enough electricity since the first was opened at Chapelcross, Dumfries and Galloway, in 1959 "to save 400 million tonnes of carbon emissions and power every home in the country for 70 years".

They have stated that Torness is the largest, cleanest and most reliable single generator in the nation.

It was estimated last year that the industry sustained 3,700 direct jobs, with more than £400 million total added value to the Scottish economy.

The NIA says that, at more than £100,000 per worker, they are more than twice as productive as the national average.

And they say that the jobs have been concentrated in poorer areas, with 48 per cent of direct jobs in the most deprived 25 per cent of local authorities, and 24.5 per cent in the most deprived 10 per cent.

The Scottish Government has been steadfast in its opposition to nuclear, believing that it is not environmentally sustainable and "isn't required" while a climate target of reaching net zero by 2045 remains.

In 2016, nuclear power stations provided 42.8 per cent of the electricity produced in Scotland.

There are four closed sites in Scotland that have been in the process of being decommissioned: Dounreay in Caithness; Hunterston A and B in Ayrshire; and Chapelcross in Dumfries and Galloway.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The Scottish Government is focussed on supporting growth and creating jobs by capitalising on Scotland’s immense renewable energy capacity rather than expensive new nuclear energy, which takes decades to build, creates toxic waste which is difficult and costly to dispose of, and does not generate power at a cost that will bring down energy bills.

“Significant growth in renewables, storage hydrogen, carbon capture and decommissioning are key opportunities for our future energy workforce in Scotland – with independent scenarios from Ernst and Young (EY) showing that, with the right support, Scotland’s low-carbon and renewable-energy sector could support nearly 80,000 jobs by 2050."