Extracts from Lords
debate on Revised Energy National Policy Statements
(Lab):...My second-to-last
point relates to nuclear, which we discussed at some length
yesterday. It is also important that we have early government
decisions on a number of nuclear aspects, particularly the
designation of nuclear reactor sites—a project that successive
Governments have utterly failed at over the past 20 or 30 years.
Any sizeable nuclear reactor will create significant planning
effects on the surrounding area and there will be strong
political pressures as well. That means that, if we are to go for
a new generation of nuclear power—by and large, I am in favour of
that, whether on the size of Sizewell or on a smaller size
facilitated by the Rolls-Royce developments
on small modular reactors, et cetera—we need to know where it
will go and all the planning hurdles have to be overcome. That
will again require a much clearer government decision on where
those sites will be...
(Con):...It was
an interesting debate yesterday, and I welcomed the information
from my noble friend the Minister on our plans to push ahead with
Hinkley Point and our nuclear programme in general. I also
believe that the contribution by Rolls-Royce for
the mini nuclear pods is a fantastic step forward, but we need to
go further. However, there is an elephant in the room that needs
to be discussed. A few years ago, we thought it worth while to
drill for shale gas in Lancashire—just one area out of many
across the UK. It was estimated that there were 37 trillion cubic
metres of gas in the Bowland fields, and extracting just 10%
would have been enough for us to be self-sufficient for the next
50 years. The programme would have regenerated a number of areas
and could have created 75,000 pretty skilled jobs. That is what
you call a real step in levelling up, and it is only the tip of
the iceberg. But it does not suit the agenda of many of the more
extreme activists of the green lobby. Misinformation on safety
and relentless lobbying—mostly by those who did not even live in
the surrounding area—stopped the programme...
(Con):...I will make four key
points. I was pleased by yesterday’s debate in our own House on
nuclear. That is part of the way forward, and the very exciting
bit is the development by Rolls-Royce of
the mini-plant concept...
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Extracts from BEIS topical questions
(Newcastle-under-Lyme)
(Con): May I draw the Minister’s attention to the plans, due
to be published tomorrow by Midlands Connect, to significantly
improve and invest in the A50/A500 east-west corridor? It runs
from the M6 to the M1 and is home to many of the UK’s leading
manufacturers, including JCB, Toyota, Rolls-Royce and
Bentley, and it is also a hotspot for the development of hydrogen
technology by businesses and by universities such as Keele
University in Newcastle-under-Lyme. The opportunities for skilled
jobs, innovation and green growth are huge if the Government can
help to unlock the infrastructure, so will the Minister meet me
and local stakeholders to discuss the opportunities?(905656)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy
and Industrial Strategy (): My hon. Friend highlights the amount of
opportunities that are coming to constituencies such as his in
Staffordshire. I would be delighted to meet him to talk more
about them.
(Vale of Clwyd) (Con): Is
my right hon. Friend aware of Rolls-Royce SMR’s
plans to set up small modular reactor factories here in the UK?
Does he agree that the high-skilled, long-term jobs in such
factories could significantly help to level up north Wales and
contribute to both net zero and a global Britain that exports
more around the world?(905659)
The Minister for Energy, Clean Growth and Climate Change (): As the current energy
Minister and the former exports Minister, I agree entirely with
my hon. Friend on the export potential of the Rolls-Royce SMR
technology, which has the potential to provide levelling-up jobs
precisely in areas such as north Wales, as he so ably urges.
