SNP nuclear stance ‘costing Scotland millions in investment'

The Herald Scotland

19 hours ago

The project is a replica of Hinkley Point C in Somerset, which is currently under construction, and has already spent £284 million across 171 businesses in Scotland and seen 1,500 Scottish workers travel to work on site.
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Research from Oxford Economics, commissioned by the NIA, has shown that nuclear's contribution to the Scottish economy—driven by the projects at Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C—rose by £400m annually between 2022 and 2024.
While the Welsh Government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the 200 or so businesses that make up the consortium behind the new plant—potentially worth up to £900m and supporting 4,700 jobs—no such agreement exists with the Scottish Government.
Although energy is largely reserved to the UK Government, the [[Scottish Government]] in Edinburgh effectively has a veto on new nuclear power developments through planning regulations.
The SNP has long had ties to the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and has opposed nuclear power for around 60 years.
It has also criticised the levy to be placed on energy bills to help cover the cost of Sizewell C, which will average around £1 per month, or about £31 million per year in total for the 2.55 million households in Scotland.
However, the NIA, which represents 300 firms in the UK's nuclear supply chain, said the sector's total contribution to the Scottish economy, including investment multipliers, was worth £1.5 billion.
Tom Greatrex, Chief Executive of the NIA, told The Herald: 'The Scottish Government could cost Scottish businesses millions and millions in new work.
'New nuclear projects in England are already creating well-paid, skilled jobs for the communities that need them most all over Scotland, and the Scottish Government should back its businesses to win even more.
'It should also get out of the way of new nuclear in Scotland itself, which would generate billions of investment directly into our national economy.'
GMB Scotland said the failure of Scottish ministers to even consider the economic benefits of new nuclear energy amounted to 'a dereliction of duty'.
Louise Gilmour, GMB Scotland secretary, said: 'New nuclear can help provide a baseload of clean and secure energy while delivering thousands of skilled jobs in Scotland.
'To discover the Scottish Government is not only refusing to discuss the potential economic benefits in public but not even analysing them in private is almost, but, sadly, not quite, beyond belief.
'The opposition is ideological but cannot be justified and must be reviewed.
'For our ministers to cover their eyes and put fingers in their ears while England and Wales enjoy the huge economic benefits of nuclear energy is both a dereliction of duty and an abdication of responsibility.'
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Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said the SNP needed to 'put Scotland first' and drop its 'ideological block'.
He said: 'This research highlights how Scottish Government policy is costing Scotland investment and jobs. We have already seen from Hinkley Point C that Scottish businesses and workers can benefit enormously from these projects.
'Yet while the Welsh Government has signed an MOU with Sizewell C that could see up to £900m invested in the Welsh nuclear supply chain, the Scottish Government has no such agreement.
'The UK Government is driving forward nuclear power in other parts of the UK, but in Scotland the Scottish Government continues to block new nuclear sites.
'That means that Scotland is being left behind, missing out on jobs, growth and the billions of pounds of investment that new nuclear could bring directly to our economy. I urge the Scottish Government again to put Scotland first and drop their ideological block.'
A Scottish Government spokesperson said new nuclear was costly and slow to develop.
They said: 'The Scottish Government is focused on supporting growth and creating jobs by capitalising on Scotland's immense renewable energy capacity rather than expensive new nuclear energy, which takes decades to build and creates a legacy of radioactive waste which is difficult and costly to dispose of.
'Significant growth in renewables, storage, hydrogen, carbon capture and decommissioning are key opportunities for our future energy workforce in Scotland—with independent scenarios from Ernst & Young (EY) showing that with the right support, Scotland's low carbon and renewable energy sector could support nearly 80,000 jobs by 2050.'
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband announced a £38 billion deal for the construction of the Sizewell C nuclear plant earlier this month.
The UK Government will become the largest equity shareholder in the project with a 44.9% stake.
New investors in Sizewell C include Canadian investment fund La Caisse with 20%, British Gas owner Centrica with 15%, and Amber Infrastructure with an initial 7.6%.
This follows French energy giant EDF announcing earlier this month that it would take a 12.5% stake—lower than its previously stated 16.2%.
The total investment, which combines equity funding and debt financing, exceeds the target construction cost. Ministers say this should provide a buffer in the event of cost overruns.
The National Wealth Fund—the Government's investment vehicle—is providing the bulk of the debt finance through a loan of up to £36.6bn.