{"id":12024,"date":"2017-04-05T16:56:20","date_gmt":"2017-04-05T15:56:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=12024"},"modified":"2017-04-05T16:56:20","modified_gmt":"2017-04-05T15:56:20","slug":"from-confusion-to-chaos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=12024","title":{"rendered":"‘From confusion to chaos’"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Ministers need to give leadership and provide public finance, as UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s energy policy \u00e2\u20ac\u0098lurches from confusion to potential chaos\u00e2\u20ac\u2122, \u00c2\u00a0with the latest developments at the Moorside nuclear power station in Cumbria.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite\u00c2\u00a0 was commenting today (April 5) on the news that French company ENGIE, earmarked to operate the site, has pulled out of the NuGen consortium.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

NuGen is a joint venture also involving Toshiba which owns the troubled Westinghouse Electric Company due to supply the three AP1000 reactors for the Moorside site, near Sellafield.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Now, after ENGIE has sold its 40 per cent stake in the NuGen consortium, Toshiba is the sole investor in the project.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The news has sparked concerns that the French company pulling out of the project could lead to unsustainable delays, just after the Hinkley Point C project experienced years of delays — it was only give the green light last year.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A business department spokesman said that the UK government is “committed to new nuclear as an important part of our energy mix, having commissioned the first new nuclear power plant in a generation at Hinkley Point C.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“The NuGen consortium has always planned to bring in other partners to deliver the project and we engage regularly with a range of developers and investors,” he added.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“The secretary of state [Greg Clark] is currently in South Korea for talks on future collaboration between our two countries, including on potential civil nuclear projects.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But Unite national officer for energy Kevin Coyne warned that the government needs to step up with a clear energy policy now.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bUnite will be writing to business secretary Greg Clark as a matter of urgency asking for clarity on the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s energy policy, with particular reference to Moorside and the need for substantial public investment to ensure that the plant proceeds on schedule,” he said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bUnite has repeatedly warned the government that \u00e2\u20ac\u0098the lights could go out\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 in the future without a coherent, joined-up energy policy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe latest developments at Moorside, which is due to supply seven per cent of the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s electricity needs from 2025, does not inspire confidence,” he added. “We appear to be lurching from confusion to potential chaos \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and this is a cause for serious concern.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe are also worried about the future of Springfields nuclear fuel manufacturing facility, near Preston, operated by Westinghouse, which has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bSpringfields is in line to supply the fuel for Moorside. Unite has a 1,000 members at Springfields and their future employment prospects are a top priority for the union.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bMoorside is expected to generate 20,000 highly skilled jobs during its construction and when it is up-and-running \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and will be a major economic accelerator for the north west,” Coyne explained. “We need to nurture and protect these skilled jobs, if the Northern Powerhouse is to become a reality in the next decade.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe case for the government to underpin, with public investment, the financial future of the Moorside project is becoming more unanswerable by the day. The private sector has not made a great success of Moorside to date.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n