Opinion divided on nuclear power benefits
Jan 11 2008 by Paul Loraine, The Journal
A NEW generation of nuclear power stations were given the green light by the government yesterday, provoking a mixed response in the North-East.
Business Secretary John Hutton told MPs he was inviting energy companies to bring forward plans to build and operate plants.
He said they would be built at or near existing reactors – prompting speculation over future development of the Hartlepool power station – and he hoped the first one would be in place “well before 2020”.
He said: “The Government believes it is in the public interest that new nuclear power stations should have a role to play in this country’s future energy mix alongside other low-carbon sources, that it would be in the public interest to allow energy companies the option of investing in new nuclear power stations and that the Government should take active steps to open up the way to the construction of new nuclear power stations.
“It will be for energy companies to fund, develop and build new nuclear power stations in the UK, including meeting the full costs of decommissioning and their full share of waste management costs,” he added.
The stance was supported last night by business leaders in the region.
Ross Smith, head of policy at the North-East Chamber of Commerce, said: “Energy security is crucial to the continued success of businesses in the North-East.
“We firmly believe that the continuation of nuclear power generation at British Energy’s Hartlepool site will play an important part in this as well as making a major contribution to the Tees Valley economy.”
Professor Peter Tavner, head of the school of engineering at Durham University, was also supportive. He said: “We need nuclear and offshore wind because nuclear does not produce greenhouse gasses.
“Nuclear power is not at odds with renewable power. We need a mixture of different forms of power and nuclear power is part of that.”
But among the objectors was North-East MEP Fiona Hall, who pointed to an earlier promise from the government not to subsidise the nuclear power industry.
She said: “This is an ill-advised and unnecessary step from a government that does not understand the challenges that face this country.
“Not only have vital questions surrounding the security and safety of nuclear power and nuclear waste simply not been addressed, but the Government’s reasoning for going down the nuclear road is flawed.
“Nuclear power cannot significantly lower this country’s carbon emissions within the necessary timeframe to stop catastrophic climate change and it will haemorrhage resources away from genuinely sustainable energy projects. Shamefully, the Government has already done a U-turn and reneged on earlier promises that the nuclear industry would not be subsidised.”
Meanwhile, Carole Zagrovic, North-East campaigns co-ordinator for Friends of the Earth, said the unresolved issue of dealing with waste was looming large.
She said: “Our North-East members will oppose any possible building in Hartlepool. There are plenty of alternatives and it’s an inter-generational issue. We are leaving the problem of waste, using all the benefits of nuclear power ourselves and leaving the problem of waste for others to deal with down the line.”
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Power station hasn’t much longer to live
It lies around a mile from the seaside resort of Seaton Carew and was met with a great deal of opposition from locals and environmental groups at the time of its opening.
Building started in 1969 but it was 1983 before it first generated power.
Expected to be decommissioned between 2009 and 2014, the power station currently provides electricity for more than 3% of the UK. It is powered by two gas reactors and two generators and the operator is British Energy.
Protests have continued over the years. In 2006, 20 members of the Reclaim Power Group were arrested after a demonstration.
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Sigh of relief as beauty spot spared
Druridge Bay in Northumberland was the subject of a 17-year campaign, from 1979 to 1996, before the threat of a nuclear facility there was lifted.
Tony Blair, then the shadow energy minister, visited the Northumberland coast at the height of the campaign and said it would never become the base of a nuclear development.
More than 40,000 signatures were gathered on a petition against the move.
Famous supporters included actress Emma Thompson and playwright Alan Bennett.
Nuclear Electric made it clear in 1995 that it still viewed Druridge Bay as a prime site.
However, by the end of 1996, plans were halted, to the delight of campaigners.
Yesterday, a resident of the area, Bridget Gubbins, paid tribute to the work of those who made a stand and said she was happy that no new station was to be built at Druridge Bay.
She said: “It all seems a long time ago now. Yet as we walk along our splendid beach, watching flocks of hundreds of geese honking their way through the sky, welly-booted children splashing in the waves, dogs and horses racing along, we might spare a thought for work done by those campaigners.”
