Call for new power plants, but Holyrood vetoes nuclear

• Committee calls for more nuclear power reactors to meet energy needs

• Executive will block new plants until safety issues on nuclear waste resolved

• 50% Scotland’s energy made by nuclear plants; 1% of UK’s energy by wind

Key quote

"Jim Wallace [the enterprise minister] said recently that, until we have a solution to the problem of safe disposal of nuclear waste, we are not planning any more nuclear power stations. Jack McConnell then endorsed that as the position of the Executive" - Scottish executive spokeswoman

Story in full SCOTLAND should not turn its back on nuclear power if it wants to avoid a crippling energy shortfall in the future, Scottish MPs warned yesterday.

But the Scottish Executive insisted last night that it would block the development of any new reactors unless safety fears were met.

MPs on the Scottish affairs committee said nuclear power stations would help avert Britain becoming a net importer of gas and could be built in as little as five years.

The Scotsman understands Tony Blair, the Prime Minister, has also been told by the government’s most senior scientists that new nuclear power plants must be built to safeguard Britain’s future energy supplies.

The Scottish affairs committee called for a "proper debate" on energy, including an audit of the costs and risks of nuclear and coal power, to be conducted after the election.

Nuclear power accounts for half of Scotland’s electricity and in their report on meeting Scotland’s future energy needs, MPs said the best solution "might be the most controversial decision that the government could take: the rehabilitation of nuclear power".

Nuclear power had a "proven track record and a new nuclear power station could take less than five years to complete".

The Executive’s targets for renewable energy sources were also challenged by the committee which said it was "unwise" to assume that a quarter of Scotland’s energy needs could be met by emerging technologies.

While there has been much publicity surrounding the possibility of wind power, local authorities have resisted giving planning consent to four out of five applications for wind farms. Only 1 per cent of UK electricity is generated from wind.

The call to reassess nuclear energy emerged as The Scotsman learned the government’s most senior scientists have told Downing Street that, in order to reduce carbon emissions and to secure power supply, nuclear power should account for more than a third of the UK’s electricity, up from the present 23 per cent.

Britain currently operates 13 nuclear power stations, but only three of these will be operating in ten years. Experts want new nuclear sites to come on-stream between about 2012 and 2020. One source said the argument for nuclear was based on the need to cut carbon emissions, because building wind farms would, at best, "simply replace the dying power stations".

However, the Executive moved quickly to slap down speculation that it would approve new nuclear plants.

A spokeswoman said: "Jim Wallace [the enterprise minister] said recently that, until we have a solution to the problem of safe disposal of nuclear waste, we are not planning any more nuclear power stations. Jack McConnell then endorsed that as the position of the Executive."

Alistair Carmichael, the Liberal Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland and a member of the Scottish affairs committee, said the Executive, not Westminster, had the powers over planning permission for a nuclear power plant north of the Border.

"I cannot foresee the circumstances in which my colleagues in the Scottish Parliament would be prepared to support that decision," he said. "For Scotland, therefore, nuclear energy is off the agenda for the foreseeable future."

Labour committee members took a different views. John Robertson, the MP for Glasgow Anniesland, said some parties had been using scare tactics to stir up the debate. But he went on: "We ignore nuclear energy at our peril. We can meet our emissions targets very easily if we look to nuclear power."

David Hamilton, the MP for Midlothian, said: "We have to bite the bullet. The key issue is to ensure we safeguard our future energy supply."

The chief obstacle to any nuclear revival would be the cost - the government and private sector have argued over how this would be divided. However, The Scotsman has been told that government officials are preparing to set aside up to 12 billion spread across several years to fund the programme.

And Mr Blair has said he has worked hard to ensure the nuclear option is not "closed off".