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

The national policy statement clearly sets out the need, as the Government see it and as is their duty. The IPC is required to make decisions in line with national policy statements, unless it is in breach of a statutory duty or it is unlawful and so on. It also has to have regard to other documents, such as any local impact reports submitted by any relevant local authority, any regulatory matters which will affect the development, or any other matters which it is thought are important and relevant to that decision. Then it has to weigh up carefully the information provided in the application and in other material which is presented during its examinations to ensure that any identified adverse effects, including longer-term impacts and any cumulative impacts from the application, are taken into account and mitigated. If the IPC is satisfied that the adverse impacts identified outweigh the benefit of the proposed development consent, consent should be refused. It is quite clear that the integrity of the whole system must rest on the ability of the IPC to refuse consent if the adverse impacts outweigh the benefits. That is where the 10 sites come in. Quite clearly, it could refuse applications. The other issue on the 10 sites is that we do not know whether one reactor or more might be applied for or given consent. As a general guide, a single reactor at each of the 10 sites will result in 12 to 17 gigawatts of nuclear capacity, depending on the reactor technology chosen. We did not consider it appropriate to include more than 10 sites in the NPS at this stage when the need is balanced against the potential harm to Natura 2000 sites. The number of sites would not necessarily be a barrier to the number of power stations because, as I have said, you could put two or more stations on most of the sites listed. I suspect that the real barrier is access to finance and the willingness of companies to make multi-billion pound investments. I turn again to the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, who asked whether we would be held to ransom by companies which hold sites but will not develop them. We certainly do not intend to be held to ransom. I make it clear that these have to be commercially viable projects, because they will not be subsidised by the taxpayer. Clearly, as we debated last time and as was debated in the Select Committee in the other place, it is for the Government to ensure—we are working on energy market assessments at the moment—that the conditions are right in which companies would wish to take those developments forward. That is very much the role of the Government, but it does not put us in a position where we could be held to ransom, as the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, suggested. Carbon price, which was raised by the noble Lord, Lord Reay, is an issue, given the low price of carbon. Of course, the tightening of the cap from 2013 onwards will have a positive impact. But we have always said that we will keep the price under review and that we would be prepared to look at options for dealing with this issue. As part of the work that we are undertaking in the energy market assessment, we are looking at that matter. We hope that the initial outcome of the EMA will be produced around the time of the Budget, whenever that may be. What happens if the 10 sites prove not to be enough? Should the need arise, the Government could and would issue a second call for nominations for credible sites. That option is certainly open to us. If a site not listed is applied for by a developer, the IPC will exam the application and make a recommendation to the Secretary of State.