HL Deb 02 December 1986 vol 482 cc705-8

2.55 p.m.

Lord Campbell of Croy

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.

The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many nuclear power stations in the United Kingdom will have completed their expected commissioned lives by 1996.

Viscount Davidson

My Lords, the future operation of the Magnox stations owned by the boards and those operated by BNFL will depend on a number of factors, including the outcome of the long-term safety reviews that are currently being undertaken and the economic viability of the stations. For accounting purposes, the lives generally adopted by the boards for the Magnox stations is 30 years. This accountancy life will have expired by 1996 for the following stations: Berkeley, Bradwell, Dungeness A, Hinkley Point A, Hunterston A, Trawsfynydd and Sizewell.

Lord Campbell of Croy

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that reply and I should like to ask him this question. Will not the replacements have to be coal-fired or nuclear stations, since renewable sources, such as tides and wind, cannot make the necessary contribution to electricity supplies? Is he aware that where coal is concerned there are problems of pollution, acid rain and the greenhouse effect on the atmosphere which all have to be taken into account?

Viscount Davidson

My Lords, I agree entirely with my noble friend. I understand that the CEGB is considering the possibility of building new coal-fired stations, but my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Energy has received no application to construct new power stations apart from that for Sizewell B. Proposals for new power stations must come from the electricity supply industry.

Lord Renton

My Lords, is my noble friend aware that eventually all fossil fuels, coal and oil, will be used up and that future generations will resent our folly if we have not meanwhile maintained our development of nuclear power?

Viscount Davidson

My Lords, this subject was covered very fully in a debate the week before last and I have to agree entirely with my noble friend.

Lord Dean of Beswick

My Lords, does the Minister recall that during that debate and in previous recent answers to the same question it has been said that the Government have a policy that any new coal-fired stations will be acid rain free and that the necessary equipment will be built into any new coal-fired stations? It is a fact that the phasing out of these Magnox stations requires urgent ordering of power stations. Bearing in mind that the turbine manufacturing industry is at present in danger of further redundancies, with the loss of skilled men who cannot be replaced when we need them, may I ask the Minister whether he will use his best endeavours to try to being forward the building of coal-fired stations pending a decision on a nuclear energy programme?

Viscount Davidson

My Lords, I shall certainly bring the noble Lord's remarks to the attention of my right honourable friend.

The Lord Bishop of Birmingham

My Lords, can the noble Viscount tell us about any possible plans for decontamination, should it be the case that these Magnox nuclear power stations will have completed their expected commissioned lives in the fairly near future?

Viscount Davidson

No, my Lords, I cannot at the moment, because no decision has been made as to when they will have completed their lives. The answer I gave related to their accountancy life of 30 years. It is quite possible that some of these Magnox stations will have a much longer life than their accountancy life, and at present there are no plans for what the right reverend Prelate calls decontamination.

Lord Jenkins of Putney

My Lords, is the noble Viscount aware that with nuclear energy there are even more serious intrinsic problems than those which have been referred to already in relation to coal-fired energy? These problems might be described briefly as Chernobyl problems, Three Mile Island problems and Windscale problems. Does the Minister agree that those problems have not yet been solved, that they are intrinsic to nuclear energy and that it is therefore to be hoped that the Government will think carefully before continuing their total reliance upon nuclear energy?

Viscount Davidson

My Lords, the stations which are the subject of this Question have provided cheap and safe electricity over many years. There is no reason to dispense with such assets before the end of their useful lives.

Lord Campbell of Croy

My Lords, does my noble friend agree that the first generation of nuclear stations has served this country extremely well, with significantly few incidents or casualties?

Viscount Davidson

My Lords, I agree completely with my noble friend.

Lord Beswick

My Lords, is it not a fact that most of the criticism which can quite properly be brought against nuclear fission cannot be brought against fusion? Can the noble Lord say whether he is satisfied that enough effort is being made in research and development in that field?

Viscount Davidson

Yes, my Lords. I assure the noble Lord that that field is being researched with urgency.

Lord Orr-Ewing

My Lords, can my noble friend say what is the life of the 374 operational nuclear power stations around the world and what is likely to be the life of the over 150 nuclear power stations currently being constructed? How does that life compare with the life of our own Magnox? Is it greater or is it less?

Viscount Davidson

I cannot answer that without notice, my Lords.

Lord Cledwyn of Penrhos

My Lords, does the noble Viscount agree that the report of the Sizewell Inquiry, massive as it will be, will provide a new forum for a detailed and thorough study of all the alternatives? In the light of that, will he say when this report is going to be published? Is it not the case that that report is in the hands of his right honourable friend? Is his right honourable friend proposing to make a Statement when the report is published? What course will the Government follow to ensure that there is a full discussion, not only within Parliament but throughout the country as well?

Viscount Davidson

My Lords, I think the noble Lord the Leader of the Opposition is better informed than I. I had not heard that the report was in the hands of my right honourable friend. He is expecting to receive that report any day and when he has studied it he will then decide when to publish it.

Lord Somers

My Lords, can the noble Lord say, in view of the increase in the number of such stations, whether any advance has been made in the problem of disposal of nuclear waste?

Viscount Davidson

My Lords, I think that is another Question.

Lord Beswick

My Lords, may I go back for a moment to the answer given me a little while ago? In view of the extra effort which the noble Viscount says is being put into nuclear fusion research, can he put a time-scale to that? Is he able to say when it will be an economic proposition to expect power from fusion?

Viscount Davidson

No, my Lords, I cannot, but I shall write to the noble Lord.

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