“Nuclear is a complete game changer,” Copeland’s MP told a high-powered debate in London this week.
Chairing the Westminster Energy, Environment and Transport Forum, Trudy Harrison delivered key messages regarding the importance of the nuclear industry.
“The future is bright for nuclear,” she said. “Nuclear is a complete game changer in getting to our net zero target emissions target. Nuclear is tried, tested and trusted in the UK.”
Mrs Harrison, vice chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Nuclear, described three hurdles which were being tackled – improving safety; tackling waste and cost implications.
The MP reaffirmed her support for both nuclear and new nuclear and spoke of the benefits of Small Modular Reactors (SMR) and Advanced Modular Reactors (AMR) in helping to reduce cost.
The UK nuclear industry debate also heard from Stephen Speed, Nuclear Director for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). He said: “Net zero is the biggest challenge that faces us. This country has always been at the forefront at tackling climate change. Since 1990 this country has reduced emissions by 42% while growing economy by two thirds. Everything in the economy needs to change to get to that point in 2050. The context for nuclear here develops, we want to see a diverse range of energy in this segment. Renewables alone won’t solve the problem, we are going to need considerable amounts of firm low-carbon power. Two things we know we can deliver on large scale for low-carbon, nuclear and carbon capture and storage.”
