Meeting of the Parliament 04 March 2025
I have seen the report, but I have heard from quite a few different sources on the matter—not least, from Southern Gas Networks, or SGN, which believes that a combination that includes hydrogen in the gas grid could be used to decarbonise the existing gas infrastructure. I do not think that we should rule anything out. We do not know what will happen in the future, with regard to technologies.
I will continue with my speech, if that is okay. I mentioned the creation of a dangerous and long-lasting radioactive waste legacy, but we cannot discuss nuclear power without also referring to its capacity to cause catastrophic damage through accidents and malfunctions. We have been lucky that that has not happened in Scotland, but nuclear has a tainted safety history, with terrible incidents having occurred at Chernobyl and, more recently, at Fukushima in Japan. In developing new clean energy systems for the future, we have a moral imperative to ensure that they do not have the ability to threaten the existence of any population or the environment that we depend on.
As long as there are serious environmental concerns, the Scottish Government is wholly unconvinced by the economic argument for the development of new nuclear. The construction of new nuclear power stations is hugely expensive and would inevitably lead to a further increase in consumer energy bills. For example, when Hinkley Point C was given the green light by the UK Government, it was due to be completed by 2025 at a cost of £18 billion; however, last month, EDF Energy estimated that the project might not be completed until 2031, at a cost of up to £46 billion—more than two and a half times the original cost estimate.
Neither is the news better for electricity consumers: even the UK Government’s own estimates show that the cost for new nuclear power is £109 per megawatt hour, compared with £38 and £44 per megawatt hour for onshore wind and offshore wind respectively. New nuclear generation will increase bills.
As we transition to a clean energy system, we must ensure that, as well as being clean, energy should enhance economic growth and be secure and affordable. That is why we have been clear that the UK Government’s intended investment in nuclear energy—