New Nuclear sites in West Cumbria !

Public meeting at Whitehaven Civic Hall, Wednesday 18 March 2009 to diiscuss possible sites:-

A public meeting is being held to give communities the chance to learn more about the nomination of land at Sellafield owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority as a site for nuclear new build.

The Nuclear New Build Nomination (NNBN) team, which is led by urban regeneration company West Lakes Renaissance, will stage the event at Whitehaven Civic Hall on Wednesday, March 18. The event is being hosted by West Cumbria Sites Stakeholder Group and chaired by Councillor David Moore. There will be two public sessions during the day – between 2.30pm and 4pm and from 5.30pm to 7pm.

The event will be the first opportunity for residents and businesses to learn more about the requirements and timescales for the nomination of the 250 hectare site just north of Sellafield. A full public consultation will take place once the Government publishes a draft list of nominated sites in the winter.

The nomination has been prepared by West Lakes Renaissance working closely with a number of partners*. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) will submit the nomination to the Department of Environment and Climate Change by March 31, the deadline set under the Government’s Strategic Sites Assessment process.

Nuclear new build is a key component of the Britain’s Energy Coast™ Masterplan, which aims to establish West Cumbria as a major national hub for low carbon and renewable energy generation. Locally it could create thousands of new jobs during the construction and operation phases; safeguard and create thousands more throughout the nuclear supply chain; and attract investment in infrastructure and local services, such as improvements to transport links and access to services. Nationally, it could play an important role in helping to tackle the Government’s response to the pressing challenges of climate change and energy security.

Cllr David Moore, Chairman of the West Cumbria Site Stakeholder Group, said: “The journey from nomination to new build could take a decade so it is important that the public and site stakeholders are aware of the process and timescales. The event is about raising awareness, so the public and site stakeholders are properly briefed before the formal public consultation period begins. “New build is of huge importance to West Cumbria so we would urge people to come along and get a greater understanding.”

Rosie Mathisen, Energy Opportunities Director at West Lakes Renaissance, added: “Nuclear new build is of vital importance to the West Cumbrian economy, with the potential to create thousands of jobs and attract billions of pounds worth of inward investment. The area boasts a world-renowned skills base so it is vital that we maintain and strengthen the expertise which has been developed over 50 years since the opening of Calder Hall.
“New build marks a new dawn for West Cumbria in many ways, but most important of all it will be for the benefit of our young people. Not only does it hold the prospect of education, training and ultimately higher paid jobs – it will provide them, and generations to come, with a reliable supply of low carbon energy which will help to address the pressing challenges of climate change and energy security.” Partners have been working for the past 18 months on the nuclear new build nomination, ensuring that the NDA site meets the Government’s siting criteria and generating market interest among utility companies.

Significant progress has been made to address the issue of an improved connection to the National Grid, with overland and sub-sea connections currently being considered. An improved grid connection will not only serve any new nuclear power station but also the other renewable energy industries expected to develop in West Cumbria over the coming years, such as wind, tidal, wave and biomass.

There has also been significant interest from utility companies including RWE, Vattenfall and Iberdrola/Scottish Power, attracted by the world-class skills base and strong local support for the nuclear industry. There is also enough reprocessed fuel currently in storage at Sellafield, to power two reactors for up to 60 years, making the site “self sustainable” and saving more than £2 billion. Using reprocessed fuel could generate up to £20 billion inward investment without the need for Government funding and avoid the creation of 0.5 billion tonnes of CO2.

RWE announced last week that it intends to submit two sites in West Cumbria through the Strategic Siting Assessment process – one in mid-Copeland near Sellafield and the other in south Copeland in the Millom area. The utility company has secured options to buy the sites; has made an offer for the mid-Copeland site for a 3.6GW grid connection and intends to make a second grid connection for the second site in the spring. The company is planning its own events to give more detail to local communities on its proposals and representatives will be at the sessions in the Civic Hall on the 18th.

To find out more about new nuclear power stations and how to make your views heard visit: www.nuclearpowersiting.decc.gov.uk or call 020 7215 3331