Hinkley Point

Debate between Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth and Lord Stoddart of Swindon

Wednesday 11th May 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth]

My Lords, we will be publishing the fifth carbon budget shortly. The noble Lord will know, as well as I do, that we need nuclear to transition away from coal. We need a reliable and constant source and, in that regard, we cannot rely on renewables. He will also know that we spent more on renewables last year than in the previous year, and the second most in the whole of the EU.

[Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Ind Lab)]

My Lords, are there not fears about the safety of the present reactor plans? Is it not a very expensive project and could nuclear provision not be better arrived at by building smaller nuclear power stations near highly populated places? Does the Minister understand that many people believe that we used to build our own power stations under the CEGB?

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth]

My Lords, standards of nuclear safety are second to none in the United Kingdom. The noble Lord is of course right about small modular reactors, and we are progressing with that, as my right honourable friend the Chancellor announced in the Budget. We have had 38 expressions of interest, which will be written to by the end of May. That is certainly an important part of the energy jigsaw.

Hinkley Point: Chinese Investment

Debate between Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth and Lord Stoddart of Swindon

Monday 2nd November 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth]

My Lords, the noble Lord is right about the disposal of nuclear waste. It is an issue that we have to address. We have much nuclear power at the moment and it is being addressed. It is an integral part of the discussions with the Chinese and EDF. It has to be remembered that the project at Hinkley Point C is not a China lead: one-third of the project is Chinese and two-thirds is EDF. However, it is central to the project.

[Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Ind Lab)]

My Lords, is the noble Lord aware that when I worked for the Central Electricity Generating Board, a nationalised industry, we built our own nuclear reactors and the CEGB was a leader in the provision of advanced gas-cooled reactors, which are still working. Why on earth is it necessary for this rich country to employ French and Chinese nationalised industries to build our nuclear power stations?

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth]

My Lords, I was not aware of the noble Lord’s background in this field but I readily acknowledge it. It is true that in the past this has been the case. Sadly, over a period of time under successive Governments, the research and development in this area was run down. We are now making agreements which are subject to stringent security and safety precautions to ensure that we move forward with what most noble Lords will acknowledge is an important part of the energy mix—namely, nuclear. We already take 20% of our energy needs from nuclear. That will continue. We are satisfied, with the conditions that we have in place, that this is the best way forward for the country.

European Council

Debate between Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth and Lord Stoddart of Swindon

Monday 23rd March 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Ind Lab)]

My Lords—

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth]

My Lords, we will hear from the Cross Benches and then from the Opposition.