Meeting of the Parliament 24 June 2026 [Draft]
Yes, I absolutely agree with Paul Sweeney, and I will come on to talk about the connection between decommissioning and the opportunities for new nuclear energy shortly.
As I said, the contribution of the Dounreay site goes far beyond the industrial activity; it helps to sustain the very fabric of the far north. The site is also unique in Scotland for the innovation and emerging technologies required to address its complex legacy. Many of the solutions that have been developed at Dounreay have been world leading, and many more will be needed as work continues on the facilities, such as the shaft and the silo, which are among some of the most challenging decommissioning projects in all of Europe. I am therefore pleased that the energy minister recognises that, and I am grateful that I have this opportunity to put on the record my thanks to him for agreeing to visit Dounreay.
All the lessons learned at Dounreay are highly relevant to the future of nuclear energy, which is the very question that Liam Kerr has brought to the chamber. New nuclear power stations that are being designed and built today will benefit directly from the experience gained in Caithness. The knowledge developed at Dounreay will ensure that future facilities—I emphasise that I am talking about future facilities, not some of the facilities that we have heard about from SNP members—are safer, more efficient and better prepared for their full life cycle.