Those who claim Conservatives are turning their backs on the green agenda are failing to see the wood for the trees. In all the chatter about green levies on energy bills, heat pumps and electric cars, they seem to be forgetting that one technology will be critical for achieving Net Zero, and it’s one the Government is squarely behind – nuclear power.
Nuclear is low carbon, reliable and cost effective. Today nuclear power makes up around 15% of the UK’s electricity supply, but the Government aims to increase this to 25% by 2050, making it central to climate ambitions.
The UK has a long history of innovation in nuclear power. We built the world’s first nuclear power station at Calder Hall, 70 years ago. Then came Chapelcross, Berkeley, Hunterston, and many more. By the time Tony Blair became prime minister, there were 16 nuclear power stations in operation across the UK. The last new nuclear power station in the UK to be built and begin operating, Sizewell B, which will still be operating in 2050, was commissioned by Margaret Thatcher. In fact, all the nuclear power stations operating today, were signed off by Conservatives.
By 2010, when the Conservatives regained the keys to No10, six stations had been closed down, and nothing new commissioned in 13 years of Labour. An anti-nuclear narrative had been allowed to enter the public and political conscience, and with it, total apathy about our energy security and independence.
That is a colossal mistake.
Putin’s war in Ukraine, triggering soaring global energy prices, has highlighted energy security and prompted a total rethink in our strategic priorities.
With improving nuclear technology, policymakers are realising that if we want true energy security, whilst achieving our climate objectives, both the UK and the world needs nuclear.
The Conservatives remain committed to nuclear energy as an integral part of Britain’s clean and green electricity mix for the 21st century. That’s why we made a firm pledge to build new nuclear capacity in the British Energy Security Strategy last year.
Last week Grant Shapps launched Great British Nuclear, the new government body which will drive investment and delivery of our new generation of nuclear power, powering homes and businesses for decades to come, with clean, sustainable and secure energy.
This heralds the beginning of a new nuclear age, and a renaissance in Britain’s nuclear industry. It’s time to put the misplaced fears, and misguided policies of the past to rest, and recognise the immense benefits that clean, reliable, home-produced nuclear energy can bring. It will make us energy secure, help grow our economy, create many well paid jobs and thriving communities, and meet our Net Zero ambitions faster and at lower cost to the consumer and national economy.
The announcement of Great British Nuclear [GBN] shows how serious this government is about making the UK one of the best places in the world to develop and commercialise new nuclear, as well as to invest in new green technologies. This, in turn, has the potential to enable the UK to export worldwide and contribute to global decarbonisation.
The launch of GBN is a critical start on this pathway and proves that this Government under this Prime Minister is capable of thinking beyond short-term electoral cycles and embarking on projects which will yield benefits for decades to come.
The possibilities for levelling up areas of our country in great need of high quality jobs and apprenticeships, such as North West Wales, could not be more exciting. Wylfa on Anglesey has been described as one of the best sites globally for gigawatt-scale reactors and Trawsfynydd in Gwynydd is a perfect site both for trialling SMR and AMR technologies, and potentially hosting a facility to manufacture medical radioisotopes.
Of course the holy grail is nuclear fusion, and both the Government-backed UKAEA at Culham under Professor Sir Ian Chapman and private enterprise such as Tokamak Energy and First Light are making progress. For now though we need to back all forms of fission technology, from gigawatt-scale to micro generation, from SMR to AMR technologies. Only then might we start to regard that store of nuclear waste at Sellafield as an asset – in itself a large potential fuel source for some of these new technologies
To ensure the industry’s success, we need hundreds of thousands of people to have the right skills, across both the civil and defence sectors. Yesterday’s announcement on a nuclear skills task force underlines the strategic approach the Government is pursuing in creating the next chapter of our nuclear story. It will set up the industry for success and prosperity, making sure our nation’s ambitions for nuclear can power up Britain, and our energy security, for decades to come, helping us to achieve Net Zero by 2050, and beyond.
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