This week was a fitting moment for a debate on the future of the nuclear industry in Cumbria given it marks the anniversary of the world’s first civil nuclear power station, Calder Hall, in my constituency.
It was a landmark moment for the entire world and was perhaps best summed up by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II when she said: ““This new power, which has proved itself to be such a terrifying weapon of destruction, is harnessed for the first time for the common good of our community.”
On that day in 1956, Workington became the first town in the world powered by nuclear energy.
We would go on to build another 10 reactors in 10 years.
Next year will mark 30 years since Britain opened a nuclear power plant. By 2028, we are scheduled to only have one left. That is despite the fact the world has recently woken up to what an important role nuclear, the most reliable form of low carbon energy, will play in tackling climate change. Nuclear energy provides around a quarter of the world’s low carbon energy.
Visit my constituency and you will hear how proud the community is to have played such a historic role in this industry. You will also hear deep frustration that our community has not generated nuclear energy since 2003 when that first nuclear power station shut down.
West Cumbria is unfortunately a good case study for what went wrong with Britain’s nuclear industry.
The last Labour government had ambitious plans to build a fleet of new reactors and in 2009 designated 10 locations around the country to host reactors, three in Cumbria and one, Moorside, in my constituency.
To date, only one project has been approved; Hinkley Point C in Somerset. It was said we would be “cooking our Christmas turkeys with power from Hinkley C” by 2017. Now it is unlikely to be operational before 2030.
Sizewell C, the next project in Britain’s slow moving nuclear pipeline, is yet to be officially approved. It has been hampered by a burdensome planning process, submitting an application that reached over 40,000 pages.
At Moorside, we haven’t even got that far. Since the land was designated for new nuclear in 2009, we have actually gone backwards and today there are new disputes about the use of the land.
The land is owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) who want to use a large portion of it as lay down for construction equipment while they build a new decommissioning facility at neighbouring Sellafield. Despite this being a hypothetical project, and the NDA owning other land they could use for this purpose, this has hampered my community’s chances of hosting a new nuclear reactor.
Sellafield is a world leading decommissioning facility that provides 12,000 jobs. The work being done there – under the leadership of CEO Euan Hutton – is truly groundbreaking and it has ensured West Cumbria continues to play a crucial role in the nuclear industry.
However, we must ensure facilities like this act as a springboard and not an anchor. My community is calling for new nuclear, not just more decommissioning. We have the ambition, skills and land to build it. What we need is an equal ambition from government.
This government has a mission to be builders not blockers. New nuclear in Cumbria, delayed time and time again and now in danger of being blocked because of a hypothetical project, is an example of how important this mission is.
That is why I used the opportunity of an adjournment debate this week to urge the new government to end the dither and delay inherited from the Conservatives and get Britain building new nuclear again, starting in West Cumbria.
Time to end the dither and delay inherited from the Conservatives and get Britain building new nuclear again
