The SNP 'should change stance' on nuclear energy to boost Scottish job creation

The country has experienced the smallest regional increase in nuclear energy jobs of anywhere in the UK, the most recent figures show.

According to the Nuclear Industry Association (NIA) latest jobs report, Scotland’s nuclear workforce stands at 5,413 roles – an increase of 268 or five per cent from last year.

By contrast, nuclear jobs in England have risen by 11,000 in the last year – a 13 per cent increase.

This rise has been driven by the UK Government investment for Sizewell C and Rolls-Royce SMR.

Tom Greatrex, Chief Executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, is now calling on the Scottish Government to change its stance on nuclear energy.

“Scotland will miss out on thousands of new jobs and economic growth while England is seeing billions invested in nuclear projects that have the scale to transform local communities,” Mr Greatrex said.

“If the Scottish Government continues with a misguided policy, ignorant of evidence and rooted in prejudice, then communities in Scotland will see new jobs, new investment, and new opportunities in the green economy pass them by.

“New projects would breathe life into Scotland’s industrial heartlands and ensure the nation fully benefits from a low-carbon, secure, and prosperous energy future.”

The Scottish Government said it is focused on jobs and growth in the renewable energy sector, rather than “expensive new nuclear energy”.

England’s nuclear workforce has grown by nearly two-thirds in the last decade, from 58,000 to 92,000, while Scotland’s workforce has grown by 500 in the same time.

Nuclear decommissioning is now the largest employer in Scottish nuclear, with programmes at Hunterston A in Ayrshire, Chapelcross in Dumfries and Galloway and more than 1,300 specialists at Dounreay on the Thurso coast, working on one of the most complex programmes of its kind anywhere in the world.

Hunterston B will transfer to ownership from EDF to the decommissioning estate next year.

EDF continues to operate Torness, in East Lothian, Scotland’s last remaining nuclear power station and what NIA described as the nation’s single largest, cleanest, and most reliable source of electricity.

However, the site is due to retire in 2030 — leaving Scotland without nuclear generation for the first time in 70 years.

Torness is, however, viewed as one of the UK’s best sites for new nuclear.

Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire & Co-Convenor of the Scottish Cross Party Group on Nuclear, said: ”Despite the Scottish Government’s efforts to talk down the nuclear sector, local communities understand nuclear power provides high skilled, well-paid jobs alongside safe, clean, and secure energy.

"These figures demonstrate that far from being an industry in decline, jobs and opportunities in nuclear are growing here in Scotland, but we could have so many with new projects, like is happening south of the border.

"With decommissioning efforts stepping up, Torness still generating, and Scottish companies heavily involved in the supply chain for new nuclear down south, the economic case for backing nuclear has never been stronger.”

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said it is “capitalising on Scotland’s immense renewable energy capacity rather than expensive new nuclear energy which takes decades to build and creates a legacy of radioactive waste which is difficult and costly to dispose of”.

She added: “Significant growth in renewables, storage, hydrogen, carbon capture and decommissioning are key opportunities for our future energy workforce in Scotland – with independent scenarios from Ernst and Young (EY) showing that with the right support, Scotland’s low carbon and renewable energy sector could support nearly 80,000 jobs by 2050.”

Scottish Green MSP Lorna Slater said: "Nuclear is a costly and dated technology that can take years to get up and running and it leaves a long and toxic legacy for future generations.

"Scotland is fortunate to have renewable resources that any country would envy and that's where we should be investing.

"The fiasco and mismanagement of Hinkley Point shows the huge costs involved, so it's no wonder that the industry is pushing for even more of these projects.

"Scotland can have a greener renewable-powered future, we don't need nuclear to do that."