SCOTLAND’S First Minister has promised to look into job fears surrounding the decision to take Hunterston offline two years early. Four west of Scotland politicians from the major parties say the early closure will have a huge impact on the area going forward. Calls have been made for the Scottish Government and North Ayrshire Council to create a plan for the workforce and this Nicola Sturgeon said the government is committed to creating new employment locally. Conservative MSP Jamie Greene says the impact of the decommissioning will be huge and insists local people will need extra support. Kenneth Gibson, the SNP MSP for the area, says work needs to be done quickly to support jobs and that officials must look towards a green future. He said: “The decision should encourage the Scottish and UK Governments to work in partnership with the council to deliver the economic transition of the area with a greater sense of urgency. “Whilst defuelling will mean no immediate job losses, investment locally in green, clean energy is now the priority.”
Largs & Millport Weekly News 29th Sept 2020 read more »
Ancient Hunterston B reactors allowed to restart: letters to Newspapers. This letter was sent to the editors of the Scotsman and the Herald on September 25, 2020: Very recently, the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) gave permissions to EDF to re-start for six months two ancient, unsafe reactors at the Hunterston B nuclear power station on the Clyde coast. These reactors are among the oldest in the world and should have been closed over a decade ago. They have been shut for 2 ½ years in one case and 1 ½ years in the other because they were unsafe due to large numbers of cracks and the loss of graphite in their cores. These are fundamentally serious matters as these cores moderate the flow of neutrons which essentially power the reactors. The ONR claims that EDF have done computer modelling and made predictions that the reactors are likely to be safe for another six months. But EDF’s modelling in the past has a poor track record. The reality is that no one can predict with certainty how graphite cores will react more than a decade past their official closing dates. Even worse, the ONR has indicated they may even give longer permissions for up to a year. In our view, the ONR’s surprising decisions are an affront to any concept of the Precautionary Principle which says we should err on the side of safety. Instead ONR is saying we are not 100% sure but go ahead anyway. This is unacceptable and we object in the strongest terms.
Ian Fairlie 30th Sept 2020 read more »