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Energy: Draft National Policy Statement for Nuclear Power Generation (EN-6)

My Lords, I am pleased to open this debate on the Draft National Policy Statement for Nuclear Power Generation. We have already discussed in detail the draft overarching energy NPS, which will be the primary document for energy development consents, and in two days’ time we will be debating the draft non-nuclear NPSs. Let me draw the attention of noble Lords to the fact that the House retains the right to adopt a resolution in respect of a specific national policy statement if it so wishes. My noble friend the Leader of the House has indicated that in the event of a Motion for resolution being tabled, the usual channels would undertake to provide time for a debate in the Chamber. This afternoon we focus our attention on the draft nuclear national policy statement. We heard in the previous debate that the national policy statements are a key part of the planning reforms introduced in the Planning Act 2008. They are the essential policy statements against which the Infrastructure Planning Commission will determine applications for development consents by those wishing to build major energy infrastructure. They also set out the Government’s policy on the need for new energy infrastructure. However, they do not in general set out any new policy. This is also the case for the draft nuclear policy statements. We are not here today to debate the need for nuclear energy, as that is decided. The Government concluded in the 2008 nuclear power White Paper that nuclear has a role to play in the future energy mix alongside renewables and clean coal. We also said that it is in the public interest to allow energy companies to fund, develop and build new nuclear power stations and that government will take active steps to make the conditions right for investment and to enable new nuclear to come online as soon as possible. Action taken by the Government so far has resulted in real interest in new nuclear in the UK, with energy companies announcing plans to build around 16 gigawatts of new nuclear capacity. The delivery of the nuclear NPS is a key part of these actions, and we are here today to consider whether the draft nuclear NPS, alongside the five other energy NPSs, is fit for purpose, and how it might be further improved. As I said two weeks ago, the nuclear NPS is not the same as the other technology-specific NPSs. In the draft nuclear NPS, 10 sites have been identified which the Government have considered potentially suitable for new nuclear power stations. They were identified after the Government undertook a strategic siting assessment to establish which sites are potentially suitable for the deployment of new nuclear power stations by the end of 2025. We consider that all these sites are needed to contribute towards the carbon reduction objectives set out in the low-carbon transition plan. That is not to say, however, that all sites listed will have a power station built on them immediately. Ten sites are listed to ensure that sufficient sites are available, even if a number of sites are not developed or fail to secure development consent. In our first sitting, the noble Lord, Lord Jenkin, urged the Government to reconsider the suitability of Dungeness. I have no doubt that we shall come to consider that question further in this sitting. However, at this point I should say that the reason we did not consider Dungeness to be potentially suitable is that development would result in adverse impacts, which could not be avoided or mitigated, on the integrity of a European special area of conservation. The Government also commissioned a study to identify whether there might be alternative sites to those nominated. Three sites were identified as worthy of further consideration. However, having considered them further, the Government do not consider them credible candidates for deployment by 2025. In the long term, meeting the objectives in our low-carbon transition plan will be a significant challenge. The overarching energy NPS sets out that the lead scenarios estimate that demand for electricity up to 2025 will remain at around 60 gigawatts. Our present generation capacity is 80 gigawatts, which provides a buffer to meet demand when, for example, a generating station is offline for maintenance. However, there will be a loss of capacity over the next decade, as around 12 gigawatts of coal-fired capacity closes by 2015 in response to more stringent emission standards set by the Large Combustion Plant Directive and around 10 gigawatts of nuclear capacity reaches the end of its life. We also anticipate that some gas-fired generating stations built before 2002 will close in response to the industrial emissions directive, and that capacity must also be replaced. Leading up to 2025, there is therefore a significant need for new major energy infrastructure, including net additional electricity generation. We estimate that around 30 per cent of electricity generation should be from renewable sources, mainly wind, by 2020. Wind, as some noble Lords who are here today often remind me, is intermittent, as other renewable energy sources are, so there must be sufficient alternative generation capacity to meet demand when the wind is not blowing. Fossil fuels provide a flexible capacity but have high emissions. The NPSs therefore set out how the IPC should implement our policy, set out in the framework for coal, which requires all new fossil fuel generating stations to be carbon-capture ready and all new coal-fired generating stations to have carbon capture and storage on at least 300 megawatts net generating capacity. The Government are also providing funding for four CCS demonstration plants, although this does not preclude developers bringing forward more proposals for coal-fired generating stations with CCS if they consider it a commercial proposition. Alongside these technologies, the Government believe that new nuclear power should in principle be free to contribute as much as possible towards meeting the 25 gigawatts of new non-renewable capacity. The Government expect that, under this approach, a significant proportion of the 25 gigawatts will in practice be filled by nuclear power. The explanation of the need and urgency for new nuclear power stations is an important part of the draft nuclear national policy statement, and that will be central to the Infrastructure Planning Commission’s decision-making. The overarching national policy statement makes it clear that the IPC will need to balance the need for new nuclear power stations against their potential impacts. The draft nuclear NPS will guide the Infrastructure Planning Commission on how to assess potential impacts of new nuclear power stations, such as on local infrastructure and through visual effects. Where relevant, it suggests measures that the Infrastructure Planning Commission might expect the developer to take or to have taken to reduce impacts. The draft nuclear NPS also explains the Government’s assessment of arrangements for waste. In the 2008 nuclear White Paper, we said that before development consents for new nuclear power stations are granted, the Government will need to be satisfied that effective arrangements exist, or will exist, to manage and dispose of the waste that they will produce. Having considered this issue in the NPS, we are satisfied that effective arrangements will exist to manage and dispose of the waste that will be produced from the new nuclear power stations. These include safe and secure interim storage of radioactive waste onsite, followed by long-term disposal in a geological disposal facility. Having made good progress in recent years, the Government are now running a staged process to identify a suitable location for a future geological disposal facility. We have already received formal expressions of interest from three local authorities about potential involvement in a geological disposal facility siting process. Alongside the draft nuclear NPS are two environmental reports—an appraisal of sustainability and a habitats regulations assessment. They support the draft nuclear NPS and the Government’s assessment of sites. The appraisal of sustainability is required by the Planning Act and helps to ensure that national policy statements and the Government’s assessment of sites take account of environmental, social and economic considerations, and contribute to sustainable development. The habitats regulations assessment assesses whether the nuclear NPS is likely to have an adverse impact on particular habitats which are protected under European law. When the habitats regulations assessment concludes that there are adverse impacts, the NPS cannot be approved unless the Government think that there is an imperative reason of overriding public interest to do so. We have just completed a comprehensive consultation exercise, inviting detailed responses from local communities which might be affected by the potential new nuclear power stations. I believe that the consultation was thorough and effective. I have been enormously impressed by the quality of contributions and the large numbers of people who have attended. We have seen more than 3,000 people attend our national and local events; there were some 21,000 visitors to the NPS consultation website and more than 3,000 responses to the consultation. Of these, more than 2,000 responded to one or more questions on the nuclear NPS. Many important issues have been raised that we will consider carefully and reflect appropriately in the final NPS. We will of course consider carefully the report by the Select Committee in the other place, which is expected by the end of March, and the issues raised by your Lordships. At the end of these sittings, the Grand Committee will report to the House. This is not the last opportunity for people to have their say. Developers must consult communities before submitting an application to the IPC, and people will also have the chance to input at application stage. However, this consultation has provided people with a chance to shape the guidance which the IPC will use to inform its decisions. Like the other energy NPSs, the nuclear NPS is critical in bringing forward nuclear infrastructure developments and ensuring that the right framework is used in the consideration of development consents. We strongly believe that the nuclear NPS is fit for purpose. I welcome today’s debate and look forward to responding to the points raised by noble Lords.