Alan Whitehead
Main Page: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)
Charles Hendry
Your knowledge, Mr Speaker, is sometimes not so much awesome as scary and I find that you know more about my electoral history than I do.
I can give my hon. Friend that assurance. We believe that the initial role of new plants will be to replace the old plants that are coming out of commission. We do not have a set Government target for delivery, but the industry thinks that it can deliver 16 GW of new nuclear power by 2025. We have identified the eight sites where that will go forward and, taking forward the work of the previous Administration, we have created the most attractive regime anywhere in Europe for new nuclear investment.
Dr Alan Whitehead (Southampton, Test) (Lab)
20. The Minister has mentioned the target of 16 GW by 2025 that the industry states it can provide, but the industry clearly is not in a position to provide that given recent developments. What work has he undertaken to revise his estimate, particularly in relation to the national planning statements, of the number of gigawatts that will be provided over the coming period through nuclear power?
Charles Hendry
I would take the hon. Gentleman to task on this. The two consortia that continue to go forward as planned—the EDF-led one and the one in Cumbria—are looking at 9.7 GW. The Horizon one—I have strong hopes that new investors will come in and take forward that programme—will deliver an additional few gigawatts as well. I firmly believe that, following on from the work of the previous Administration, we have created a very attractive regime for people from around the world to look to be part of the nuclear renaissance in the United Kingdom. We cannot do this without international investment and we recognise that we need to create the right framework for that to come forward.