Largs & Millport Weekly News | Opinion | Taxpayers won't pay for nuclear waste

Tuesday, 14th October, 2008

Published: Wednesday, 23rd July, 2008 12:00

Taxpayers won't pay for nuclear waste

Comments (0)

Print Article

Image related to story, see caption or article text

I read with interest Councillor Chamberlain’s views on the case for no more nuclear and letters from Provost Rae and Lorna King, all published on July 16 .

The popular misconception that nuclear power is expensive was evident in the first two letters. This is not true. An extensive report, The future of nuclear power - The role of nuclear power in a low carbon UK economy, published by the UK Government in May 2007 concluded that nuclear power, with the inclusion of waste management and decommissioning costs, was considerably less expensive than wind power,

The report also stated that nuclear is comparable in cost to fossil fuels once the cost of carbon emissions are included, but that was before the huge rise in the costs of fossil fuels this year.

Further, both Councillor Chamberlain and Provost Rae contend that taxpayers will be left holding the bill for waste management and decommissioning of a new generation of nuclear power stations, yet the UK Government and the nuclear industry itself has made clear that the full costs will be met by private industry.

In regards to Ms King’s concerns with safety, British Energy’s safety record is impeccable, and studies carried out over a number of years by the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE), an independent Government advisory group, show no evidence of increased cases of leukaemia or any other cancers around any of our British Energy sites.

Over the last 30 years, Hunterston B has safely generated affordable, reliable and a secure supply of electricity to 1.5 million homes across Scotland. It has also avoided carbon emissions equal to removing half the cars from Scotland’s roads. It has brought income and investment into the region and helped us retain our knowledge of a vital worldwide growth industry.

All methods of electricity generation have some impacts, but only nuclear has the ability to produce reliable, affordable and very low carbon electricity supply, to help meet Scotland’s needs in the modern 21st century.

Mark Gorry,

Station director, Hunterston B