Nuclear power not needed in Scotland, Holyrood told

Published on Thursday 17 January 2008 12:48

NUCLEAR power is not needed to meet Scotland's future energy needs, MSPs were told today.

Energy minister Jim Mather added that the possibility of a giant sub-sea cable down the east coast of the UK would further strengthen Scotland's self-sufficiency.

MSPs were being asked to back the SNP's anti-nuclear stance in a debate in Parliament.

The UK Government last week gave the go-ahead to a new generation of plants to help fulfil future power needs with the publication of the Energy Bill at Westminster.

But Mr Mather said in Parliament: "Our approach is clear – Scotland doesn't want or need new nuclear power.

"The facts are that we are already meeting a very large part of our energy needs from non-nuclear sources.

"We have massive potential for exploiting our significant renewable resources and we're also capable of reducing our reliance on fossil fuel energy supplies while making those clean."

The Scottish Government's non-nuclear stance will foster export potential of energy technology, expertise and products, the minister added.

"The views of this government are unequivocal in terms of nuclear power," Mr Mather added.

He added that the provisions in the UK Energy Bill on nuclear decommissioning do not extend to Scotland.

Figures last week show in 2006 Scotland supplied the equivalent of 92 per cent of its gross energy needs from a mix fossil fuels, renewables and pump hydro storage, the minister said.

He added that the amount of energy generated from nuclear power in that year fell by a quarter, although he accepted this was down to the partial closure of the Hunterston plant.

Mr Mather said: "There's no energy gap, there will be no energy gap, especially with the Crown estates forecasting an additional five to ten giga watts from renewables by 2020."

Crown estates research today indicated that a sub-sea cable down the east coast of the UK was economically viable, meaning that renewable generation in Scotland could be more easily fed into large population centres down south. The government motion calls for more dialogue with Westminster.

But Lothians Tory enterprise spokesman Gavin Brown said an overall energy policy was needed and not simply a narrow focus on electricity as put forward by the government.

He outlined national issues of diminishing oil supplies and ageing coal and power stations and an unstable global energy picture.

He said the debate on energy has to cover a broad range of factors that leaves nothing out, and identifies a level of energy decentralisation as playing an important role in the future.

And he accused the government of "flapping in the wind" by only putting 14 million a year into energy and climate change while ruling out new nuclear power stations.

Mr Brown said his party was "terrified" at the potential energy gap and claimed the Nationalists had no idea what their mooted "renewables mix" will look like.

"We need, renewables, we need cleaner coal, we need to be more efficient, we need nuclear and we need more decentralisation," he said.