Heated debate as minister makes case for renewables

SCOTLAND neither needs nor wants nuclear power stations, ministers claimed yesterday.

JIM MATHER, the energy minister, opened the setpiece debate on power by arguing that Scotland's needs could be met by non-nuclear means.

Mr Mather declared: "Our approach is clear – Scotland doesn't want or need new nuclear power. The facts are that we are already meeting a very large part of our energy needs from non-nuclear sources.

"We have massive potential for exploiting our significant renewable resources and we're also capable of reducing our reliance on fossil-fuel energy supplies, while making those clean."

Mr Mather also claimed research published yesterday by the Crown Estates indicated that a subsea cable down the east coast of the UK was economically viable, meaning renewable generation in Scotland could be more easily fed into population centres south of the Border.

"There's no energy gap; there will be no energy gap," Mr Mather insisted.

But LEWIS MACDONALD, for Labour, challenged this assumption.

He said: "When senior Scottish ministers argue that there is no energy gap, because over 90 per cent of energy consumption is met at a particular point in time by coal, oil, gas and renewables, and there is therefore no need to think about anything else, they are not just guilty of using selective statistics for their own ends."

Mr Macdonald said if the London government bridges the UK energy gap by the development of new nuclear power stations in the south of England, Scottish as well as English consumers will take electricity from the grid those power stations supply.

"So the SNP's portrayal of themselves as the great opponents of nuclear electricity is simply an illusion," he added.

"In fact by opting out of the Energy Bill, opting out of a common strategy for nuclear waste and declining to extend the principle of polluter-pays to nuclear power-station decommissioning, they are simply opting out of the real debate.

"They are also fundamentally wrong to suggest that the only energy or electricity that Scotland should produce should be the energy or electricity that Scotland will consume. They are guilty of talking down a major Scottish export industry and the jobs that go with it."

LIAM MCARTHUR, for the Liberal Democrats, said his party had made its opposition to nuclear power clear and that it was "unwanted, unsafe and uneconomic".

Mr McArthur told MSPs there was no "single, magic bullet" but options worth considering included clean coal, carbon capture and marine energy technologies.

"But as well as finding a resolution to the outstanding grid and transmission issues, more impetus must be given to efforts to bring forward the date by which this technology can start making a meaningful contribution to our energy mix," he said.

KENNY GIBSON, SNP MSP for Cunninghame North who argued the case for renewable energy, was challenged by Alex Johnstone, of the Conservatives, to say how he reacted to the decision to extend the lifespan of the Hunterston nuclear power station – and how he would react to any move to replace it with new nuclear generation on the site.

Mr Gibson said he had been "absolutely delighted" at the decision to extend its lifespan to 2016. "However, I have made it quite clear publicly – unlike my Labour MP, who shares my views but is reluctant to express them in the local press – that to spend more than a decade building a nuclear plant in order to generate electricity for 35-40 years, producing waste which lasts for thousands of years and will cost billions to decommission, is not appropriate," he said.

DAVID STEWART, Labour MSP for Highlands and Islands region, argued the case for hydro power and told MSPs: "Isn't it time for a hydro revolution?

"What work is being undertaken to develop the potential for new sites and developments? If the minister wants a campaign, can I suggest 'It's Scotland's water'?"

ROB GIBSON, SNP MSP for Highlands and Islands region, told MSPs: "The development of a Scottish energy strategy is central, to sit alongside the Scottish Government's approach to climate-change targets."

He added: "The security of supply that we can provide infinitely comes from the water, the air, the waves and the tides around our own shores."

Labour's JAMES KELLY, however, stressed the need for nuclear power to be part of Scotland's energy supply.

"It's essential we produce a secure energy policy that keeps the lights on, reduces consumption and carbon emissions and also tackles fuel poverty," the Glasgow Rutherglen MSP said.

"In that light, it's important that we have a balanced energy policy.

"Currently, in relation to electricity, the balance includes renewables, gas, coal and nuclear. That mix is important in order to protect us against future shortages and also changes in market conditions."

He added: "In terms of moving to the future, we shouldn't rule out any options. We have to consider what's required to meet Scotland's energy needs."

But ALISON MCINNES, a Lib Dem MSP for North East Scotland, spoke out against nuclear power. She told MSPs the UK government was wrong to press ahead with a new generation of nuclear power plants.

Instead, she said, the money invested in that should be put towards developing green-energy technology.