The Britt-ish View - Sizewell C would be great for us

As published in the Suffolk Free Press, Thursday, September 6, 2018.
 

Sorry to remind you, but as this month draws on, so the hours of daylight will appreciably diminish.

However, baring the local impact of a winter storm or two, our houses’ lights will stay on and our offices and factories will remain operational during the dark days of winter.

This will only be true in the longer term, though, if we rebuild our nuclear capacity – and that includes giving EDF Energy’s Sizewell C project in Suffolk the go-ahead.

There is an urgent need to invest in low-carbon infrastructure in the UK as much of the current electricity generation capacity will close by 2030, including a substantial amount of the UK’s current nuclear sites.

Climate change treaty obligations also require us to cut our greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050.

Given the planning restrictions on onshore wind farms and growing resistance to solar plants, there is no way we can hit these targets without building more nuclear stations – and quickly.

Nuclear energy has an absolutely vital role in this country’s future energy security. Without the significant investment required to build the next generation of nuclear power stations, this country will experience a growing energy gap, become ever more dependent on gas supplies from Putin’s Russia and possibly have to return to using coal-fired generators as Germany has done.

And who in their right mind would want that?

I am frankly amazed at the naivety of the critics of nuclear energy. These folks seem to think that the UK can rely almost entirely on renewables. But the intermittency and cost of harnessing some renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy means that we need other sources to supplement them.

Then there are those critics who expound stories of doom and danger, implying that the industry in UK in the twenty first century is somehow analogous to the crumbling Soviet Union of the Chernobyl era.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

The UK has used nuclear power since 1956. During that time there has never been an incident at a civil nuclear power station that has required action to protect the public.

Nuclear power stations in the UK operate to extremely high safety standards. The industry is regulated by the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), with independent bodies responsible for safety, security, transport, waste and decommissioning.

The planned new nuclear power station at Sizewell C, like the one being built at Hinkley Point in Somerset, will use the UK-EPR  – a latest-generation pressurised water reactor with multiple safety systems.

And so we come to the third type of nuclear critic – the NIMBY. As regards Sizewell C, there are certainly some infrastructure issues which need to be addressed. The possibility of a Suffolk Energy Gateway – an improved A12 in effect – should have a major beneficial impact on the local roads network and economy.

But I have no time for those campaigners whose main issue is that a new nuclear power station would compromise their rural idyll or Heaven forfend, have a marginal and indeed questionable impact on local house prices.

The truth is that that the overwhelming impact of Sizewell C will be good for the UK and great for Suffolk.

Firstly, up to 25,000 roles will be needed during the course of its construction and around 900 permanent jobs will be required when Sizewell C is operational.

Secondly, the Sizewell C project will create training opportunities and apprenticeships for young people in Suffolk, who will be equipped with skills they can use throughout their careers.

Finally, there will be significant opportunities for local companies supplying the project – everything from small and medium-sized engineering firms, to taxis and security guards, catering and accounting service. 80% of contracts involved in building a new nuclear station are for non-nuclear goods and services.

I look forward to the third stage consultation into Sizewell C happening sooner rather than later – and then straight on to a Government approval for this vital and much-needed project.

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