Nuclear future for planned wind farm opposed by Greens
Published: 18 May 2008
The rights to West Hinkley wind farm have been sold off to Electricite de France who have already announced their intention to build one or two nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point. The news follows a bid put in by EDF to buy British Energy who own ageing Hinkley B power station and, more importantly, a parcel of land originally lined up for Hinkley C.Cllr Ricky Knight, lead South West candidate for the Green Party in the European election 2009, commented:
‘This is an insidious and disturbing revelation, with real significance to the people of the South West. The potential expansion of nuclear capacity in Somerset has major health and safety implications not just for the inhabitants around Hinkley Point, but for all of us in the region.
‘Nuclear Power IS a local issue - it would appear that the wind that could have turned the turbines on this very same site is the same force that could dissipate the fallout from any catastrophe.’
Your Energy, who last week announced they sold the wind farm rights, have fought continuous objections from British Energy, Hinkley A and Hinkley B, backed up by the Health and Safety Executive over the unlikely risk of wind turbine 'blade throw' to the nuclear reactors. Your Energy began the planning process in 2002 supported by various local environmental groups including Forum 21, West Somerset Green Party and Stop Hinkley.
Although thousands of letters of support were sent to West Somerset planners, objections, principally from British Energy, meant plans for three of the twelve wind-turbines had to be dropped after West Somerset District Council rejected the original application in 2005. Even with the reduced nine-turbine proposal, British Energy continued the fight, moving on to object on a 'land-use' argument, declaring nuclear would be a better use of the land earmarked for the wind-farm. Your Energy's land option with Fairfield Estates, owned by Lady Gass, was due to expire next year. It appears the company decided they had little chance to build the wind farm in the present climate.
There is still an outside chance that the wind farm may be built by EDF under the auspices of their fledgling renewables 'wing', known as 'EDF Nouvelle' or 'New EDF' and Your Energy has passed on the project files to them. It seems more likely, though, that the land has been procured primarily to build one or two of Areva's giant 1,600 Megawatt European Pressurised Reactors.
Ricky Knight continued: ‘Nuclear Power is deeply unpopular with the vast majority of the public, regardless of the spin given it by the Government and their corporate sponsors. I suspect that a vast new reactor owned by a French company, subsidised massively by the British taxpayer, will be even more deeply unpopular. Hinkley A and B are already long past their sell-by date; their decommissioning will cost a fortune and the toxic waste will be inherited by a dozen generations into the future.
‘The EPR design is undergoing serious problems in Finland, years behind schedule and millions over budget. Why do we continue to drag this evil genie out of its bottle, when the options, through micro-technologies and the whole raft of renewable options are already there, available off the shelf; tried, tested, clean and safe and at a fraction of the subsidised price tag pinned on the nuclear band-wagon.’
