Plans for a new nuclear power station in Scotland will be developed by the UK Government, Ed Miliband has confirmed.
The Net Zero and Energy Security Secretary yesterday said that work would take place to assess the feasibility of a range of potential sites, including at the Torness site in East Lothian and Hunterston B in Ayrshire.
He said a Labour-led Scottish Government would then work with the industry to ensure the development can go ahead if the SNP is ousted in next year’s Holyrood election.
It is understood that a small nuclear reactor could lead to thousands of jobs being created during the construction phase, then hundreds more when the site is up and running.
Although nuclear energy is reserved to Westminster, the SNP has control of planning laws and has ruled out allowing nuclear energy developments north of the border.
But Mr Miliband said: ‘I think we can do even more in Scotland, and I think we can do even more through new nuclear.
‘The truth is that Scotland has got a proud nuclear history but it is being held back by the SNP’s anti-growth, anti-jobs ban on new nuclear power.’
He said that he has had detailed discussions with Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander ‘and we are determined to deliver’.
A single small nuclear reactor like the one shown above could create thousands of jobs
Power move: Ed Miliband set out his nuclear plan
Speaking to Scottish media at a reception in the Department for Net Zero and Energy Security in London, Mr Miliband said: ‘What I can tell you today is that if Scotland elects a Labour government on May 6, then on day one on the morning of May 7 he [Mr Sarwar] and I will invite the world’s nuclear industry to Scotland to begin talks about investing in Scottish locations.
‘And given the growing interest in nuclear in Scotland I am asking Great British Energy Nuclear to assess Scotland’s capability for new nuclear power stations, including at Torness and Hunterston.’
He said that developing nuclear in Scotland could ‘massively’ increase the number of new clean energy jobs north of the border, and predicted that it is going to be ‘a very big issue’ in the Scottish election campaign.
Mr Miliband said: ‘Led by Anas, we are saying yes to new nuclear in Scotland.’
Under UK Government plans, one small nuclear reactor is set to be approved every year between now and 2030, with the aim of having them up and running by 2050.
The reactors could be vital in providing a balance in Scotland’s energy mix and helping ensure that the national grid can be topped up if the wind is not blowing.
Earlier this year, an Opinium survey for the Britain Remade campaign group found that 52 per cent of Scots who backed the SNP in the last Holyrood election want nuclear to be part of Scotland’s energy mix.
This rises to 57 per cent for those who backed the party at last year’s general election.
A total of 56 per cent of Scots thought nuclear power should be part of Scotland’s clean energy mix, while 23 per cent disagreed and 21 per cent didn’t said know, according to the survey of 1,000 Scottish adults carried out between April 22 and 25.
But SNP MSP Paul McLennan said: ‘If a failing, unpopular UK Labour government thinks that the answer to their problems is to try and force new nuclear power on Scotland, they are in for a surprise.
‘Scotland’s focus is on our immense renewable energy potential – not expensive new nuclear that will take years to deliver, put bills up and leave us dealing with dangerous waste for decades to come.’
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Scotland will get new nuclear power station if Labour win Holyrood election, Miliband says