Meeting Scotland's Future Energy Needs
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House of Commons Scottish Affairs Committee Meeting Scotland's Future Energy Needs Second Report of Session 2004–05 Volume II Oral and written evidence Ordered by The House of Commons to be printed 16 March 2005 HC 259-II Published on 7 April 2005 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited £13.00 The Scottish Affairs Committee The Scottish Affairs Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Scotland Office (including (i) relations with the Scottish Parliament and (ii) administration and expenditure of the office of the Advocate General for Scotland (but excluding individual cases and advice given within government by the Advocate General)). Current membership Mrs Irene Adams MP (Labour, Paisley North) (Chairman) Mr Alistair Carmichael MP (Liberal Democrat, Orkney and Shetland) Mr Peter Duncan MP (Conservative, Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) Mr David Hamilton MP (Labour, Midlothian) Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger MP (Conservative, Bridgwater) Mr John Lyons MP (Labour, Strathkelvin and Bearsden) Mr John MacDougall MP (Labour, Fife Central) Ann McKechin MP (Labour, Glasgow Maryhill) John Robertson MP (Labour, Glasgow Anniesland) Mr Mohammed Sarwar MP (Labour, Glasgow Govan) Mr Michael Weir MP (SNP, Angus) Powers The committee is one of the departmental select committees, the powers of which are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No 152. These are available on the Internet via www.parliament.uk. Publications The Reports and evidence of the Committee are published by The Stationery Office by Order of the House. All publications of the Committee (including press notices) are on the Internet at www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/scottish_affairs_committee.cfm Committee staff The current staff of the Committee are Mike Clark (Clerk), Diane Nelson (Committee Assistant) and Camilla Brace (Secretary). Contacts All correspondence should be addressed to the Clerk of the Scottish Affairs Committee, House of Commons, 7 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA. The telephone number for general enquiries is 020 7219 6295; the Committee’s email address is [email protected]. Witnesses Wednesday 19 January 2005 Mr Norman Harrison, Mr Sandy McWhirter, Mr Marc Murray and Dr Beth Taylor, UKAEA Ev 1 Tuesday 1 February 2005 Mr Maf Smith, Scottish Renewables Forum; Mr Niall Crabb, Scottish Coal, Mr Jimmy Ferguson, Wavegen; Mr Alan Mortimer, ScottishPower Ev 21 Tuesday 22 February 2005 Professor James Lovelock CH CBE DSc FRS Ev 32 Tuesday 1 March 2005 Mr Ian Marchant and Mr Paul Smith, Scottish and Southern Energy Ev 39 List of written evidence United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority Ev 1 Scottish Renewables Ev 18 Professor James Lovelock CH CBE DSc FRS Ev 32 Scottish and Southern Energy Ev 39 Stuart Young Ev 53 Confederation of UK Coal Producers Ev 58 Dounreay Action Group Ev 59 Julian Walford BSc(Eng), MBE, MIEE Ev 61 Alan J Scott MIMechE, Ceng Ev 62 Alistair J MacDonald BEng CEng MIEE Ev 64 Energywatch Ev 69 Industrial and Power Association Ev 71 David R Craig BSc MSc CChem MRSC Ev 72 Nuclear Industry Association Ev 76 The Highland Council Ev 77 Highlands and Islands Enterprise Network (HIE) Ev 80 Aker Kvaerner Engineering Services Ltd Ev 85 Scottish Affairs Committee: Evidence Ev 1 Oral evidence Taken before the Scottish Affairs Committee on Wednesday 19 January 2005 Members present: Mrs Irene Adams, in the Chair Mr Alistair Carmichael John Robertson David Hamilton Mr Mohammad Sarwar Mr John MacDougall Mr Michael Weir Ann McKechin Memorandum submitted to the Committee by UKAEA (United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority) — Over the past 50 years, UKAEA at Dounreay has provided a major source of direct and indirect employment in the Caithness and North Sutherland region. Dounreay is estimated to support nearly 5,000 jobs across the UK, with some 2,050 of those jobs located in Caithness. — In April 2005, The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) will become responsible for the decommissioning of UKAEA and BNFL sites and UKAEA will become a contractor to the NDA. UKAEA has responded to the challenge of competition by recently announcing the acceleration of the decommissioning programme from 2063 to 2036. — The acceleration of the decommissioning programme has implications for the Dounreay workforce and in recognition of this issue, UKAEA is working closely with the local development agencies. — The main thrust of the work with the development agencies is to ensure that the local business community maximise the benefits of significant spending from the decommissioning programme in the short term and to use this opportunity to lay the foundation of a sustainable economic base in the longer term when the Dounreay decommissioning project is complete. — The current training opportunities provided by UKAEA in the North of Scotland can instil qualities of enterprise, innovation and learning from the decommissioning programme. It is these qualities, gained from cleaning up the nuclear legacy, that are establishing the Northern Highlands of Scotland as a world class base for expertise in nuclear decommissioning and environmental restoration and will ensure that the ultimate legacy of Scotland’s first “atomic factory” is one everyone can be proud of. — UKAEA does not have a view on what the long term solution for managing the UK’s radioactive waste should be, as these issues are the responsibility of the Committee of Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM). — UKAEA is leading the UK Government’s involvement in the fast track development of fusion power, which oVers a safe and environmentally benign alternative to fossil fuels. This work is being carried out by UKAEA at Culham in England. UKAEA—Who We Are The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) was incorporated as a statutory corporation in 1954 and pioneered the development of nuclear energy in the UK. Today we are responsible for managing the decommissioning of the nuclear reactors and other radioactive facilities used for the UK’s nuclear research and development programme in a safe and environmentally sensitive manner. Our objective is to essentially restore the sites for conventional use. Background The UKAEA Dounreay Nuclear Test Research Establishment was established 50 years ago in 1955 for the development and demonstration of nuclear fast reactor technology for the production of electricity. The role, by necessity evolved to provide all the functions to serve that goal with the addition of fuel fabrication, reprocessing and waste management activities all integrated on one site. Ev 2 Scottish Affairs Committee: Evidence Three reactors were constructed and operated, the Dounreay Materials Test Reactor (DMTR), the Dounreay Fast Reactor (DFR) and the Prototype Fast Reactor (PFR), to advance the science and technology behind nuclear fast reactors. All programmes were successful in meeting the goal of developing fast reactor technology as a viable proposition for commercial power generation. The choice of Dounreay for this project had a major impact on the area. The nearest town of Thurso trebled in size from 3,000 to 9,000, UKAEA built 1,000 new houses, and new schools and a college were constructed. New businesses developed to take advantage of contract opportunities at the site. In 1988, the Government announced that the fast reactor programme would be terminated in 1994. The then Highlands and Islands Development Board commissioned consultants PIEDA to examine the socio- economic consequences of this, and additional funding was made available to the economic development agency to oVset the impact on Caithness and Sutherland of the rundown of the programme. The cessation of the programme in 1994 led to a substantial reduction in manpower at Dounreay. UKAEA sought to oVset the loss of government funding at Dounreay through diversification as a nuclear fuels business. In 1998, however, UKAEA concluded this business was no longer feasible, leaving it to focus entirely on decommissioning of the fast reactor liabilities. A major recruitment drive took place to staV the decommissioning programme, and employment levels increased substantially. In 2000, UKAEA Dounreay published the Dounreay Site Restoration Plan (DSRP), which at that time was probably the most comprehensive blueprint for the restoration of a major nuclear site in the world. This envisaged a 60-year programme, costing in the region of £4 billion, with employment levels remaining high during the major construction period associated with the first 20 years. In 2001, the Scottish Executive announced the formation of a decommissioning task force under the auspices of the Highlands and Islands Enterprise network to address the opportunities and threats arising from closure of the site. Recent Developments In April 2005, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority will become responsible for the decommissioning of UKAEA and BNFL sites. UKAEA will become a contractor to NDA, and it is expected these contracts will be opened to competition at a later date. UKAEA is preparing for the challenge of competition, and in October 2004 announced an acceleration of the Dounreay decommissioning programme from 2063 to 2036, and a reduction in estimated cost to £2.7 billion. UKAEA’s Current Role Within the Caithness and North Sutherland Economy It is diYcult to overstate the importance of UKAEA to the economy of the Dounreay local area, given that the company and site has been a major source of direct and indirect employment in the region for the past