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Greg Hands says country’s opposition is ‘great pity’ Two units at Hunterston B were shut down in November 2021 and January 2022. Courtesy EDF Energy. The Scottish government has rejected UK energy minister Greg Hands’ plea to “rethink” its stance on new nuclear power stations in Scotland.

The minister said it is a “great pity” Scotland has opposed the construction of any nuclear plants amid the cost of living crisis in the UK and that he would be willing to sit down with first minister Nicola Sturgeon and Scottish energy secretary Michael Matheson to hear their concerns.

It has been a longstanding Scottish government and Scottish National Party policy to oppose nuclear, with the focus instead on the just transition to renewables. Until recently Scotland had four commercial nuclear reactors at two sites – Hunterston B and Torness.

The two Hunterston B units were shut down in November 2021 and January 2022, while the remaining two units at Torness are due to close in 2028, two years earlier than originally planned.

Date: Friday, 15 July 2022
Original article: nucnet.org/news/government-rejects-minister-s-plea-to-change-stance-on-nuclear-7-4-2022

The Unit B2 (Reactor 4) of the Hunterston NPP in North Ayrshire, Scotland, was permanently shut down on 7 January after generating electricity for 46 years.

Date: Tuesday, 11 January 2022
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newsfinal-shutdown-for-uks-hunterston-b-9388015

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has unveiled a 10-point plan that he says can be "a global template" for delivering net-zero emissions. Point 3 of the plan is the government's commitment to develop new nuclear power, from large-scale to small and advanced modular reactors. This includes investment of GBP525 million (USD696 million) for "the next generation of small and advanced reactors".

Date: Thursday, 19 November 2020
Original article: world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/UK-includes-new-nuclear-in-green-revolution-policy

The UK obtained 19% of its primary energy from low-carbon sources last year, with 39% of this from nuclear power, but this was 7% lower than in 2017 due to outages at Dungeness B and Hunterston B towards the end of 2018, official statistics published today show. Nuclear capacity was broadly the same as in 2017, at 9.3 GW.

Date: Thursday, 25 July 2019
Original article: world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Nuclear-remains-UKs-main-low-carbon-energy-source

New nuclear would not play a role in an independent Scotland, according to a white paper published by the Scottish government in November.

The current Scottish government is opposed to the building of any new nuclear power stations in Scotland and will phase out existing stations in Scotland over time, it said.

Scotland has four AGR reactors in operation at the Hunterston B and Torness sites, which are due to close in 2023. However, EDF Energy plans to extend the lifetime of the fleet for as long as it remains safe and cost effective to do so.

In an independent Scotland the decommissioning costs of Scotland's three non-operational sites (Dounreay, Hunterston A and Chapelcross) would continue to be met from the public purse. EDF Energy would meet the cost of decommissioning Hunterston B and Torness. Costs relating to nuclear decommissioning outside of Scotland would be for the government of the rest of UK to meet.

The Scottish Government said it plans to establish an Energy Partnership with Westminster, through which it will ensure that new investment in Scottish generation is not compromised by the Westminster Government's proposals to overhaul the structure of the electricity market and enter into expensive, long-term contracts for new nuclear generation.

The Scottish Government aims to generate the equivalent of 100% of electricity from renewables and thermal sources fitted with carbon capture and storage by 2020.

Date: Monday, 02 December 2013
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newsindependent-scotland-would-phase-out-nuclear-power_4139286

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