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

The noble Lord is right to say that there is an alternative view, but it is not one which I espouse, and it does not appear to be an alternative view which the Government and their experts espouse. No doubt we shall argue about the rights and wrongs of the alternative view, and I am sure that the Minister will also respond on that. The current operator at Dungeness, as the noble Lord, Lord Jenkin, said, has put forward lots of arguments as to why it is sensible to have a replacement power station there, mainly on the basis that it is not confident that other sites will come forward. That issue is central to the national planning policy statement, and I believe that the Government need to be more proactive in promoting the development of nuclear power on all these nominated sites if we are to meet some of the deadlines and timescales about which other speakers have already expressed concern. It is already connected to the National Grid, but that does not necessarily mean that there ought to be a power station there. Of course, local people are far more familiar with having a power station on their doorstep and, therefore, are less sensitive. I believe that the environmental and coastal erosion arguments are more powerful. I am sure that World War 3 on the future of Dungeness is about to break out. The noble Lord, Lord Jenkin, and I will no doubt do battle. I believe that we can, through the medium of this policy statement, aim for nuclear power station development that not only helps with energy security and carbon reduction but also takes good account of environmental and coastal erosion processes.