from Sunday Herald, 18 June 2006
Prime Minister Tony Blair's bid to build new nuclear power stations will be backed by scientists in Scotland this week, the Sunday Herald can reveal.
A long-awaited report by the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is going to come out in favour of more reactors to replace those at Hunterston in North Ayrshire and Torness in East Lothian when they shut down.
The RSE's recommendation will infuriate MSPs and environmental groups who regard nuclear power as a "dangerous irrelevance". It will also put the Society at odds with the Scottish Executive, which is opposed to the further development of nuclear power while the problem of how to dispose of its radioactive waste remains unresolved.
The RSE, established in 1783, is an independent club of 1,400 scientists elected by their peers as experts in their fields. The result of its year-long investigation into energy supply and demand in Scotland up to 2050 is due to be published at a news conference in Edinburgh tomorrow morning.
Insiders have told the Sunday Herald that as well as endorsing new nuclear stations it will support wind farms. "All energy sources which are now technically and economically feasible should be considered," said one of the report's authors. "We haven't written this report to please people. If it's unpopular, that's too bad."
Critics have claimed that the nine experts chosen by the RSE to conduct the energy inquiry were biased in favour of nuclear power. They include Dr Robert Hawley, the former chief executive of the nuclear power company, British Energy, and a member of the lobby group, Supporters of Nuclear Energy.
Others are known to be supportive of nuclear power, and none are on record as critics. The energy inquiry committee was headed by Maxwell Irvine, a physics professor from the University of Manchester, who has previously warned that phasing out nuclear power could lead to energy shortages.
Richard Lochhead MSP, the Scottish National Party's energy spokesman, said: "Ever since the Royal Society of Edinburgh first mooted this inquiry, there has been the suspicion - given the avowed support of some members for nuclear power - that they would win the day."
He added: "If indeed there is support in this report for new nuclear stations in Scotland, then the scientists and engineers will come across as belonging to a bygone age and totally out of touch with Scottish public opinion."
Environmental groups also take issue with the RSE's call for the development of nuclear power in tandem with wind farms. "It is politically naïve to say that we can have major investment in nuclear power at the same time as new renewables," said Dr Richard Dixon, director of WWF Scotland.
"It's no surprise than an establishment group of scientists and engineers have plumped for nuclear power. It is a 1950s solution to the energy problem relying on big, centralised and inefficient plants."
The RSE's conclusions, however, will be welcomed by some, including the UK government's chief scientific adviser, Sir David King. He believes that nuclear power, along with renewables and energy efficiency, will all be needed to combat the threat of global warming.
"There are no energy generation solutions that do not have both advantages and drawbacks," King told the RSE. "Neither is there any energy technology or policy solution that on its own will enable the UK/Scotland to achieve its goals for long term, sustainable energy supply."
The RSE would not comment on the contents of its report in advance of publication tomorrow. But the inquiry chair, Maxwell Irvine, warned that energy may not be as abundant in the future as it is now.
"Energy is an emotive subject and too important to become a party political issue," he said. "Our broadly-based Inquiry will be independent, impartial and multidisciplinary and seek to help keep the discussion at the level of national importance it warrants."
The renewables industry predicted last week that it would be able to supply over half of Scotland's electricity by 2020 with power from wind, water, the sea and other sources. This prompted some commentators to doubt whether new nuclear stations would be needed.
Last week the Scottish Executive also published its response to Blair's energy review, reiterating its current anti-nuclear position. The official deadline for making submissions to the review closed two months ago, and the Prime Minister is expected to announce the outcome next month.
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