Nuclear Energy Policy: Climate Change

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 5th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[Virginia Crosbie (Ynys Môn) (Con)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to introduce this important debate tonight.

Our country’s ever-increasing energy requirements and, more importantly, how those requirements are met have long been the source of much debate under Governments of all political colours. Hitting the right energy mix is the aim of all high-consumption countries around the world but, of course, it is easier said than done.

Never has the energy mix been more evident than in my constituency of Ynys Môn in north Wales. Wave and solar energy specialists on Ynys Môn are leading the way in their respective fields, and some of the first offshore wind prototypes were tested on the island. However, this is only part of the all-important energy mix.

New nuclear power has the capability to meet rising demand, and this Conservative Government can be incredibly proud that the UK is the first major economy to pass a net zero emissions law with a carbon target of net zero by 2050. Wylfa Newydd on Ynys Môn is critical to achieving that target for a number of reasons, and I will touch on only a few of the most salient points tonight.

First, there is rising demand for electricity, and the Committee on Climate Change predicts that demand to double. The electricity we produce cannot be any electricity: it must come from clean sources and, of course, it must be dependable. This report introduces the idea of firm power—electricity generation that can be relied on to supply demand at all times. We cannot ignore our population’s ever-increasing requirement for electricity as we decarbonise heat and transport.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I congratulate the hon. Lady on securing this debate on a vital subject and on her wonderful introduction. Does she agree that, as with all things in life, a balance must be struck and that we must balance the provision of energy with a safe and secure foundation for that provision? Does she also agree that nuclear power, which I support, is not the answer to all our needs but is currently necessary and that, while we consider viable replacements for nuclear energy, we must take care of our nuclear plants to the highest safety standards?

[Virginia Crosbie]

This reactor technology is proven and has already been delivered four times. I agree with the hon. Gentleman that this technology must be proven to be safe.

Secondly, nuclear power fits in with decarbonisation both here and in the world at large. Nuclear energy has been powering UK homes since 1956, doing the heavy lifting of decarbonisation long before global warming was near the political agenda. According to the “Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics 2019” published by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, nuclear power provides over 45% of our domestically generated clean power. Over the next decade, however, all but one of our current fleet is due to come offline. If that capacity is not replaced with nuclear, our emissions will go up.

Countries like Germany have tried to decarbonise by shutting down their nuclear power stations and opening open-cast lignite coal mines—the dirtiest form of coal possible—to keep the lights on when their wind and solar fleet is not generating enough electricity. Their long-term solution is to pipe in gas from Russia, but that is still a polluting fossil fuel. The Nord Stream 2 project risks Germany becoming too dependent on gas from Russia, at a time when the world’s political instabilities risk supply cut-off. This would not be an appropriate course of action for us to take.

If we were to exclude nuclear in the UK, we would need to install 478 GW of capacity, compared with between just 70 GW and 80 GW in a balanced mix. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology concluded in 2018 that not only is it more difficult to reach net zero without nuclear, but it is significantly more expensive.

Lastly, but most importantly, for my constituents of Ynys Môn the economic benefits are clear. As a Government, we promised our voters in areas such as mine that they would not be forgotten any longer.

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[Nadhim Zahawi]

Quite right, Sir. It has been over three decades since Ynys Môn elected a Conservative Member of Parliament and I look forward to working with her over the coming years to ensure that this Government deliver for the people of her constituency and across the entire region of north Wales.

I am pleased that my hon. Friend has raised the important issue of nuclear energy, and I am eager to speak to her and the House this evening about the huge number of benefits that the UK expects to receive as a result of the Government’s commitment to the sector. I am grateful to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk Coastal (Dr Coffey), for her presence. She, too, takes an eager interest in nuclear power, not only because of her constituency and her constituents’ needs, but for the wellbeing of the energy sector nationally.

New nuclear is likely to have a significant role to play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. In September 2016, we gave the go-ahead to the first new nuclear power station in a generation, at Hinkley Point C; and in June 2018 we committed £200 million through our landmark nuclear sector deal, which includes millions of pounds for advanced nuclear technologies. The Government understand the important role that nuclear plays, and will continue to play, in our economy. That role includes ensuring that local and national benefits are realised, whether through increased employment opportunities or improvements in skills.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Ynys Môn reminded us, on 27 June 2019 the UK Government set a legally binding target to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions from across the whole UK economy by 2050. We were the first major economy in the world—followed by France and the rest of the EU—to legislate for net zero, and we want to deliver our commitments in a way that maximises the economic benefits of the transition to net zero. Between 1990 and 2017, we reduced emissions by more than 40% while at the same time growing our economy by more than two thirds, decarbonising our economy faster than any other G20 country. The net zero target requires us to build on that progress by transforming the whole of our economy and, of course, changing the culture in our society—our homes, our transport, our businesses and how we generate and use energy.

I thank my hon. Friend for talking about the energy White Paper. It will form a key part of our journey to net zero. To answer her question about its publication date, I can inform her that the Secretary of State has stated that she intends to publish the energy White Paper in the first quarter of this year. The White Paper will set out a clear, decisive strategy—a strategic approach to decarbonising energy, driving up clean growth opportunities and demonstrating international leadership in the build-up to COP26 at the end of the year. I am sure we are all delighted that COP26 is to be hosted in the great Scottish city of Glasgow.

Net zero is not just good for the environment; it is good business. It is already abundantly clear, however, that a substantial increase in low-carbon generation will be needed to reach net zero by 2050. Nuclear will have an important role to play in the UK’s future energy mix, providing firm low-carbon power and complementing variable renewable generation. Britain was the world’s first civil nuclear nation, and nuclear energy has powered homes and businesses in this country for more than 60 years. There are currently 15 nuclear reactors operating at eight sites throughout the UK, and they provide a fifth of our electricity. In 2016, the Government gave the go-ahead for the first new nuclear power station in a generation, at Hinkley Point C in Somerset. Once operational, Hinkley will provide 3.2 GW of secure, low-carbon electricity for around 60 years, meeting an estimated 7% of the UK’s current electricity requirements. To put that another way, it will power nearly 6 million British homes—twice as many homes as there are in London.

I recently had the pleasure of visiting the Hinkley site, and it was incredible to see the sheer scale of the endeavour that is being undertaken. There has been significant progress at the site; in December, the developer announced that all key milestones for 2019 had been achieved. Those included the successful delivery of J-zero for the first reactor, which marked the point at which the foundations for unit 1 were complete and the above-ground work could commence. They also included the first big lift for Big Carl—who I met—the world’s largest land-based crane, which towers 250 metres over the site. In one single lift, it can lift the equivalent weight of 5,000 shire horses, or of two A380s. It is a remarkable piece of engineering. On 18 December, engineers at Hinkley worked through the night to lift a 170 tonne part of the reactor’s steel containment liner into place, and it was fantastic to see the results at first hand.

During its construction and operation, Hinkley Point C will provide the local region, as well as the entirety of the UK, with economic benefits. In July 2018, the Government published “Hinkley Point C: wider benefits realisation plan”. The plan, produced with support from EDF Energy, sets out how the wider benefits of the project will be delivered. For example, Hinkley Point C is expected to provide more than 25,000 new employment opportunities and up to 64% of the value of construction contracts to UK-registered companies.

[Jim Shannon]

During the previous Parliament, I met some of the people involved in the project. They told me that all regions of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland would benefit from those jobs. Can the Minister confirm that Northern Ireland will gain from the construction of the project?

[Nadhim Zahawi]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that question. I am happy to write back to him on how much of the benefit has gone to businesses in Northern Ireland.

A total of almost £4 billion in today’s money will go into the regional economy over the lifetime of the project, composed of about £1.5 billion during construction and about £2.4 billion during operations.