9 Mar (NucNet): UK energy minister Malcolm Wicks said yesterday that nuclear is “an enormously important industry” for the north-west of England.
Mr Wicks was speaking during a visit to the city of Manchester where he met safety, security and environmental regulators, environmental groups and nuclear power companies in the latest in a series of consultation seminars as part of the government’s energy review, announced in September 2005 by prime minister Tony Blair.
Mr Wicks also visited the University of Manchester's Dalton Nuclear Institute. He said: “The North West encapsulates both sides of the nuclear debate. Just over 25 years ago, Manchester City Council was at the forefront of local authorities in declaring itself a nuclear-free zone. This was a reaction to genuine concerns of the time, against the backdrop of the cold war.
“But nuclear power is also an enormously important industry for the North West. It supports an estimated 23,000 jobs in the region and generates expenditure of around 1 billion pounds (1.7 billion US dollars, 1.5 billion euros) a year. Here at Manchester’s Dalton Nuclear Institute we see pioneering research vital to nuclear clean-up and future reactor technologies.”
Among nuclear facilities in the region are British Energy’s Heysham nuclear power plant, which has four advanced gas-cooled reactors, and British Nuclear Group’s Sellafield site, where decommissioning work is taking place.
Mr Wicks said: “The energy review is not about resurrecting the demons and prejudices of the past. Nor is it about a headlong rush into building new nuclear plants. It is about hard evidence, not just on the potential of nuclear, but also of renewables, fossil fuels and greater energy efficiency. The challenges are big and there’ll be no easy or single solution. But I am certain of one thing – robust scrutiny of safety, security and environmental impact would be the pre-requisite of going down the road of building new nuclear power stations.”
The director of the Dalton Nuclear Institute, Professor Richard Clegg, said it is time for nuclear power to shake off its old image. “For too long in the eyes of the public nuclear power has been confused with nuclear weapons. The energy review needs to be the opportunity for modern nuclear power to demonstrate its credentials as being safe, affordable and clean.”
In the UK’s House of Commons yesterday, prime minister Tony Blair said the country faces a “major challenge” meeting its energy needs and environmental targets without nuclear power in the energy mix.
Responding to a question about an energy report issued by the Sustainable Development Commission earlier this week, Mr Blair said no one has ever said nuclear power is the whole answer. “The question is whether it is part of the answer, as part of a sensible and balanced energy mix.”
