New reactor in Caithness would help achieve energy security, says Jamie Stone
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Local MP Jamie Stone has reiterated his support for new nuclear development in Caithness by arguing that mini-reactors can play a key part in helping the UK to achieve energy security.
He is pushing for the county to be considered as a location for a small modular reactor (SMR) and maintains there is strong backing for the idea among the community.
The Liberal Democrat MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross says he has had "a positive initial conversation" with engineering giant Rolls-Royce, which hopes to build up to 10 SMR power stations by 2035.
In a debate on small modular reactors and energy security, Mr Stone highlighted the contribution that reactors can make in producing hydrogen.
He was responding to a speech by Virginia Crosbie, the Conservative MP for Anglesey, who claimed that the UK’s reliance on importing energy from other countries had led to poor energy security. Mr Stone suggested that wind power and nuclear could work together to address the problem.
Speaking during the debate in Westminster Hall, Mr Stone said: “Caithness is one of the most nuclear-sympathetic parts of the United Kingdom, because it is where the Dounreay nuclear reactor was constructed in the 1950s. Even today some 1500 jobs directly and 500 in the supply chain rest on the nuclear industry.
“The point I wish to make is that units of this nature can in fact, when the wind is blowing hard and renewables are working, create hydrogen, which will help us deal with precisely the problem that the Honourable Member is highlighting.”
Mr Stone said later: “Achieving domestic energy security is of paramount importance. Mini-reactors could help us towards this goal.
"I recently had a positive initial conversation with Rolls-Royce about the potential of siting a small modular reactor in Caithness. It is clear that there is strong support from the local community, so I hope that my fellow political representatives, and indeed the Scottish Government, will join me in embracing this opportunity.”
Mr Stone's support for the SMR programme was challenged recently by the Scottish Forum of Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA), whose chairman, Glasgow SNP councillor Feargal Dalton, claimed there was "almost no public support for new nuclear in Scotland". Councillor Dalton urged the far north MP to focus on proven renewable technology instead.
Councillor Struan Mackie, a Highland councillor for Thurso and Northwest Caithness and chairman Dounreay Stakeholder Group, was scathing about NFLA. He called it a "tin-pot pressure group" and accused Councillor Dalton of pushing "a completely false narrative".
A poll by the Caithness Courier and John O'Groat Journal has generated hundreds of comments on Facebook, with 82 per cent of those casting a vote online saying they are in favour of a small modular reactor in the county.
One reader, Graham Sinclair, stated: "Yes, we need it. Unfortunately the SNP in Holyrood will block it as they have made it no secret they are anti-nuclear. They also don't care about us in the Highlands and want to clear us out so they can install more wind farms."
Margaret Mackenzie wrote: "Absolutely YES. My late father predicted this would be the future of Caithness many years ago. 'First they will take years to decommission the place, then rebuild bigger and better.'"
Aileen Young claimed a new reactor would be "the best thing to happen to Caithness in years", while Diane Inrig highlighted the jobs it would bring and Fiona Carter said: "Caithness has the skills equipped to take this forward."
Robin Clarke stated: "Yes... more clean baseload generation is required to replace fossil fuel power stations as they reach end of life."
However, Alan McLachlan was against the idea, saying: "No, I don’t want future generations to have to live with nuclear waste."
Rolls-Royce SMR has secured £490 million through commercial equity and UK Research and Innovation grant funding.
The company hopes to complete its first reactor in the early 2030s. Rolls-Royce says each SMR power station would have the capacity to generate 470 megawatts of low-carbon energy, equivalent to more than 150 onshore wind turbines.
