By stewartb

It’s clear from statements made, if Anglo-British political parties gain power in Holyrood after the 2026 election, Scotland in Union will see a new generation of nuclear power plants (large ‘conventional’ and/or small modular reactors) built here.

Ian Murray MP, Secretary of State for Scotland, July 4, 2025 stated: “In other parts of the UK, the UK Government is driving forward nuclear power, as are countries across Europe and indeed the world. But in Scotland the Scottish Government clings to its ideological objection to new nuclear sites. That means that Scotland is being left behind, missing out on thousands of skilled jobs and economic growth, as well as clean affordable energy. I urge the Scottish Government to put Scotland’s interests first.”

Ideological? Does establishing an appropriate energy system specific to energy-rich Scotland’s needs require new nuclear power plants sited here? Or does the UK government and Anglo-British political parties in Scotland consider that the UK energy system needs more nuclear power and because of this assessment, for some reason new nuclear plants must be located in Scotland? This is despite the same voices emphasising that the energy system for Great Britain is wholly integrated: so why is the build location so critical to energy demand and supply? If the concern is that the absence of new nuclear plants will have a negative impact on jobs growth here why not permit already energy-rich Scotland in Union a competitive industrial advantage through differential renewable energy pricing?

Bear in mind the constraints on delivery of surplus electricity from Scotland to energy-hungry England associated with the transmission bottleneck at the Scotland-England boundary. This is being addressed by the construction of multiple High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) cables offshore: these will carry electricity generated by wind offshore Scotland southwards to enable England to have energy at a lower price than would otherwise be the case.  (Note also these HVDC cables which will deliver lower cost energy to England are bidirectional, supposedly available to balance grid demand in exceptional time-limited circumstances in Scotland.) Is the reasoning behind the push for new nuclear power plants in Scotland based on objective analysis of energy system need – and whose? – or pro-Union ‘ideological’ politics?

Ideological? Will the proponents of a new generation of nuclear power plants, costly and with an inevitable toxic waste legacy, furnish the electorate in Scotland with an ‘options appraisal’ – new nuclear or investment in tidal power and/or enhanced storage of offshore wind-generated surplus electricity etc.? Of course Scotland in Union does not have the agency to implement the optimal solution for Scotland: it’s only Westminster that has the power to implement the optimal – or the sub-optimal or the outright damaging – all  policy options calculated to serve England’s needs and wants. Is the reasoning behind the push for new nuclear power plants in Scotland based on objective analysis of energy system need – and whose? – or pro-Union ‘ideological’ politics?

Be aware of nuclear legacy

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) Group is the UK government-owned company charged with decommissioning nuclear sites, managing radioactive waste and the transport of associated materials. It presently has responsibility for 17 sites including Dournreay: it expects to be assigned another seven in the relatively near future (including Hunterston B, Torness and Vulcan, an MoD facility adjacent to Dounreay).

All form part of the legacy of the UK’s nuclear power generation as well as research sites, fuel-related plants and waste handling, and disposal facilities dating back to the 1950s. The NDA’s operating subsidiaries include Sellafield Limited, Nuclear Restoration Services, Nuclear Waste Services  and Nuclear Transport Solutions.

The NDA Group has recently (July) published a ‘Draft Strategy’ for public consultation (closing September 29). It contains remarkable insights into its forward time projections for what it will take to deal with the legacy of the UK’s present nuclear sites and the toxic waste associated with them.

Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/the-nda-group-draft-strategy-2025-for-public-consultation

The NDA document has a section 1.2 entitled Strategic Outcomes: it lists 47 outcomes, summarised in the table below (reproduced from the NDA document):

I invite you to look at the forecast dates for these outcomes being achieved. Some illustrative examples:

• Outcome 25: all uranium reused or disposed, 2120 (95 years hence)
• Outcome 32: all intermediate level waste treated, 2120 (95 years hence)
• Outcome 46: all land demonstrated as suitable for reuse, 2135 (110 years hence)
• Outcome 34: all Intermediate Level Waste disposed, 2379 (354 years hence)
• Outcome 47: all land de-designated or reused, 2380 (355 years hence).

Marvel at the time horizons, marvel at the precision – 354 and 355 years out! Marvel at  how ‘clean’ the UK’s nuclear enterprises are proving to be!

What about the timeline for specific sites, e.g. Dounreay in Scotland? From the same NDA document comes the chart below. Again note the dates.

For example:

• Outcome 34 – all Intermediate Level Waste (ILW) ‘disposed’ by year 2379, 354 years hence
• Outcome 37 – all land dedesignated or reused by 2334, 312 years hence! 

Again, marvel at the distant time horizons – marvel at the precision! (To give perspective – 354 years is of course the equivalent in time to the period from 1671 to the present day!) One is tempted to use the phrase ‘just too silly’!

Note

In the UK, radioactive wastes are classified according to the type and quantity of radioactivity they contain and how much heat is produced. About 6% of all radioactive wastes (by volume) are in the ILW category. Its main components are nuclear reactor components, graphite from reactor cores and sludges from the treatment of radioactive liquid effluents. (See https://ukinventory.nda.gov.uk/information-hub/about-radioactive-waste/how-do-we-manage-radioactive-waste/ )