Time to strike to secure nuclear future for Caithness, says local councillor
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pA Caithness councillor has warned there is "a narrow window of opportunity" for a new nuclear development in the far north.
Councillor Andrew Jarvie, who represents Wick and East Caithness, says it is time the Scottish Government rethinks its opposition to nuclear power.
He issued a call for the potential for a new nuclear development to replace Dounreay to be looked at seriously by the numbers as Caithness continues to be "carpeted with wind turbines".
UK government energy minister Greg Hands has asked the SNP and Greens to rethink their opposition to new nuclear development, as Dounreay shifts towards the final phases of decommissioning.
But the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero Michael Matheson rejected the call saying "it is probably the most expensive form of electricity you can choose to produce”.
Green MSP Maggie Chapman claimed "nuclear power is neither safe nor reliable”.
But that comes amid a major breakthrough in the "Holy Grail" of nuclear fusion by US scientists – a potential source of near-limitless clean energy.
Researchers revealed that they have overcome a major scientific hurdle by producing more energy from a fusion experiment than was put in.
Reacting to the exchange and the news of breakthrough, Cllr Jarvie said now is the time to strike.
“As Dounreay enters some of the final stages of its decommissioning, we still have a narrow window of opportunity to restart nuclear power generation in Caithness to save and create new jobs," he said.
"Unfortunately, the SNP's opposition to new nuclear development is the only thing stopping us.
“The UK government wants to build at least eight new nuclear power plants to tackle surging energy costs and provide more power to deal with the increasing number of electric cars, and has opened funding rounds to start work on this.
"Unfortunately, we will continue to miss out on the opportunity so many of us want because of the SNP and Green’s illogical opposition to the most reliable and cheap sources of energy.
"They all seem to think more wind turbines are the answer, but what’s the reality? Caithness is carpeted in wind turbines, but how many people do we know who work for them versus Dounreay? There is no comparison.
"Wind isn’t reliable either. Over this summer when energy usage was the lowest, coal power stations were generating non-stop through June, July and August because wind energy generation as so low.
“This is exactly where this bizarre opposition to nuclear has landed us. We are told we must all switch to electric cars to save the climate, but the refusal to allow new nuclear power has seen days where coal produces more energy than wind. Just where is the environmental logic in that?"
Cllr Jarvie added: “There is no future without new nuclear, the current grid has such little capacity to provide the power for the current quantity of electric cars that coal power stations which were meant to be demolished are now being kept in reserve.
"But there is also the cost, which we all see. If all these renewables were so great, why are our bills so high? Why do we have to pay an extra tax in our energy bills just for green energy? It’s a false economy.
“If all of our electricity came from even the most expensive nuclear plant in the UK, our bills would be 40 per cent lower. That is what the future looks like, and we all need it.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson reiterated its opposition to the building of "new traditional nuclear fission energy plants in Scotland under current technologies".
They said: "In addition to environmental and waste concerns, new nuclear power will take decades to become operational and is also very expensive, only adding to the huge pressures facing energy consumers right now.
“Meanwhile, already one of the cheapest forms of energy, wind power has a vital role to play in supporting long-term affordability of our energy, alongside new and existing technologies such as hydrogen and hydro power.
“Scotland has extensive renewable generation capabilities and ensuring that we can support decarbonisation not only of Scotland but the rest of the UK through investment in our electricity grid is one of the main challenges in our net zero energy transformation.
"It is vital that industry, government and the regulator work together to enable timely investments while ensuring that the regulatory levers held by the UK government drive down costs and increase benefits for customers and communities.”
