UK ministers have been criticised for “pouring billions of pounds of public money into unproven technology” by pressed ahead with nuclear fusion investment.
The warning comes after North Ayrshire lost out on becoming the site of the UK’s first fusion energy plant having been shortlisted.
The North Ayrshire plant would have struggled to receive permission, given the Scottish Government remains ideologically opposed to the use of nuclear power.
Energy policy is reserved to the UK Government but Scottish ministers can effectively veto plans to build power stations in Scotland through planning regulations.
At a Scottish Conservative reception at the party’s conference in Birmingham, Prime Minister Liz Truss told delegates that the UK will continue “using our resources in the North Sea” and by “building new renewables power stations”.
She added that she would focus on “encouraging Nicola Sturgeon to invest in nuclear power stations”.
SNP Energy Secretary Michael Matheson had repeatedly insisted the Scottish Government does not back nuclear power, including nuclear fusion - instead focusing on renewables.
The Scottish Greens have warned that the £220m of investment in nuclear power by the UK Government is wasted.
Greens environment and energy spokesperson, Mark Ruskell MSP, said: "The climate emergency is happening all around us, we don't have time to waste by pouring billions of pounds of public money into unproven technology.
“Fusion may have a role in the future, but there is a long way to go before we will know if it is safe or viable. We cannot pin our hopes for decarbonising our economy on technology that is still years away.
“Nor can support for fusion technology undo the terrible damage that is being done by an energy policy that is based on fossil fuels and the dirty energy sources of the past.”
He added: "This may not directly impact Scotland, but we all have an interest in governments across the UK taking effective climate action rather than throwing away the little time that we have left.
“Many of the clean technologies that could make a real difference already exist. The UK government should instead focus on the major investment we need in renewables and in building an energy sector that works for people and the planet.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel