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Governments facing nuclear clash | Governments facing nuclear clash |
(about 1 hour later) | |
The Scottish Government has defended its opposition to new nuclear energy on the day UK ministers announced proposals for more power stations. | |
Business Secretary John Hutton told Westminster that companies would be invited to submit plans to build and operate new nuclear power plants. | |
But Holyrood ministers said they wanted "clean, green" energy. | |
Scotland's Finance Secretary John Swinney denied his government was risking future energy supplies. | Scotland's Finance Secretary John Swinney denied his government was risking future energy supplies. |
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said that the UK needs a more independent power supply, but critics, including the SNP, have argued that a new generation of new stations would be expensive, dirty and dangerous. | |
The UK's existing nuclear power stations produce about 20% of the UK's electricity, but most are due to close by 2023. | The UK's existing nuclear power stations produce about 20% of the UK's electricity, but most are due to close by 2023. |
On Thursday, Mr Hutton also published an Energy Bill signalling greater deployment of renewable energy and increased investment in carbon capture and storage as well as offshore gas infrastructure. | |
If you set your face against new nuclear in Scotland, you have to explain how we are going to provide that 40% of electricity David CairnsScotland Office minister | If you set your face against new nuclear in Scotland, you have to explain how we are going to provide that 40% of electricity David CairnsScotland Office minister |
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." | |
But, re-stating the Scottish Government's opposition to new nuclear power stations, Mr Swinney insisted that 92% of the energy used north of the border came from non-nuclear sources. | |
"We don't have an energy gap to fill for some considerable time," he told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme. | |
"Let's invest in safe and sustainable measures of electricity generation, rather than investing in a nuclear set-up which is very expensive, which we still don't know what to do for safe disposal of the waste, which will burden consumers with enormous decommissioning costs." | "Let's invest in safe and sustainable measures of electricity generation, rather than investing in a nuclear set-up which is very expensive, which we still don't know what to do for safe disposal of the waste, which will burden consumers with enormous decommissioning costs." |
Scotland Office minister David Cairns said that 40% of domestic electricity consumption came from the country's two nuclear stations at Hunterston and Torness. | Scotland Office minister David Cairns said that 40% of domestic electricity consumption came from the country's two nuclear stations at Hunterston and Torness. |
"The challenge is that if you set your face against new nuclear in Scotland, you have to explain how we are going to provide that 40% of electricity," he said. | "The challenge is that if you set your face against new nuclear in Scotland, you have to explain how we are going to provide that 40% of electricity," he said. |
"You can't get that just from renewable sources - they are intermittent by nature." | "You can't get that just from renewable sources - they are intermittent by nature." |