nuclear power and shoreham harbour

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Nuclear Power and Shoreham Harbour

UK Renewable Energy Strategy

The Government has published the UK Renewable Energy Strategy, setting out draft criteria for assessing where new nuclear power stations could be built in England and Wales, including factors that would automatically rule sites out.  

The Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (BERR) recently consulted on this document.  The consultation sought views on how to drive up the use of renewable energy in the UK, as part of our overall strategy for tackling climate change and to meet our share of the EU target to source 20% of the EU's energy from renewable sources by 2020.  It outlined a number of 'exclusionary' and 'discretionary' criteria. Exclusionary criteria related to the fundamental suitability of a site and will be used to 'screen out' unacceptable locations.  This includes seismic risk, capable faulting and proximity to heavily populated areas.  'Discretionary' criteria are those that could make a site unsuitable, subject to further consideration.  These include less absolute issues and will be used to form a balanced view of the site's suitability, such as flooding, coastal conditions and areas that are environmentally protected.

BERR is now using the responses it received to shape the UK Renewable Energy Strategy.  This will be published in Spring 2009, once the UK's share of the target has been agreed.

Looking Forward

The criteria are expected to be finalised by early next year and a national policy statement will be issued in 2010. If sites that are approved as strategically suitable win planning permission, construction could begin in 2013-14, with generation coming on stream from 2017 to 2020, according to BERR.

Background to the debate

In Summer 2007, the government responded to a press report that Shoreham Harbour may be used as a site for a Nuclear Power station.  A statement issued by BERR [PDF 30kb] maintained that the Government had not identified any locations for new nuclear power stations.

The former Department of Trade and Industry (now BERR) commissioned a discussion paper by Jackson Consulting [PDF 4.02mb] *.  This was produced in April 2006 to help inform the policy discussion process that led up to their 2006 Energy Review Report.  While BERR have pointed out that neither Brighton nor Shoreham are explicitly mentioned in this Report, there is on page 11 a map called Key Opportunities for Nuclear Development that has a large blue spot over what appears to be Brighton and Shoreham referring to excellent national grid connections in the area. 

* Please note this is a large file and if you unable to download it please email sustainability@brighton-hove.gov.uk or call (01273) 293833 for a paper copy.