Here’s why Labour’s nuclear plans are wrong for Scotland

THE UK Government has used the distraction of Andy Burnham’s coronation and the
row over defence spending to quietly push out a report that sets out where
they would like to build new nuclear power plants in Scotland.

However, it hasn’t gone unnoticed by energy experts. The report from GB Energy
Nuclear, titled “Technical Advice on Potential Future Nuclear Power Plant
Siting in Scotland”, is suitably tentative – any new build would depend
on the SNP making a complete about-turn on policy to allow the development
of plants that Scottish planning legislation explicitly blocks.

New nuclear power plants are consistently vastly behind schedule and over-budget,
whilst Scotland’s renewable energy revolution continues to deliver ever
greater contributions to meeting our energy demands. However, this new
report not only explicitly states where Labour would like to see new plants
built, it also quietly notes the risks development at those sites would
create for communities and our environment.

Whilst Torness, Dounreay, and Hunterston are earmarked, it also singles out the north shore of the Forth Estuary, the south bank of the Forth, and the Angus and Aberdeenshire coast. Note the common theme here – these are all coastal sites,
variously flagged for risks to Sites of Special Scientific Interest
(SSSIs), Special Protected Areas (SPAs), cultural heritage, and flooding
risks.

Those in Fife and Stirlingshire have particular reasons to be
worried. Coastal management is a difficult and complex task as it is. As
climate change brings increases in extreme weather events, coastal erosion,
sea level rise, and storm surges, tough decisions are being made about
which coastal areas will be defended, and how, and which will be subject to
managed retreats that will provide greater resilience for communities and
critical infrastructure.

Added to which, however we decide to manage one
stretch of coastline will have impacts on other stretches. This is why we
have a National Marine Plan. That work is hard enough without dropping in
new security-critical sites that would exacerbate existing problems and
make it even harder to manage and protect our often-fragile coastlines.
Furthermore, siting new plants further inland, for example along the Forth,
is no less risky.

The report notes that demand for cooling water is likely
to be a limiting factor, and that no supporting flow data for that part of
the Forth is currently available. Far from being “secure”, new nuclear
will build in greater insecurity and costs to our electricity supply. If
England, which has long lagged far behind Scotland in deploying renewables,
wishes to take those risks that’s a matter for its own electorate.
Scotland doesn’t need to follow suit, and no amount of scaremongering,
cajoling, or false promises from Shanks or the nuclear industry should
persuade our government to think otherwise.

The National 7th July 2026,
https://www.thenational.scot/politics/26260100.labours-nuclear-plans-wrong-scotland/