{"id":666786,"date":"2026-06-30T21:43:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T21:43:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/666786\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T21:43:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T21:43:11","slug":"scotland-nuclear-jobs-warning-as-snp-says-future-lies-in-renewables","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/666786\/","title":{"rendered":"Scotland nuclear jobs warning as SNP says future lies in renewables"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n READ MORE:\n<\/p>\n

\n The study, carried out by Great British Energy-Nuclear, found that Scotland has areas which could be suitable for future nuclear projects, including small modular reactors and large-scale power stations.\n<\/p>\n

\n It identified Torness<\/a> in East Lothian<\/a>, Dounreay in Caithness and Hunterston in North Ayrshire \u2014 all areas already associated with nuclear power \u2014 as well as other potential areas around the Firth of Forth estuary and Scotland\u2019s east coast.\n<\/p>\n

\n The findings have reignited the political row over Scotland\u2019s energy future, with UK ministers arguing that nuclear power should sit alongside renewables as part of a secure low-carbon electricity system.\n<\/p>\n

\n But the Scottish Government remains firmly opposed to new nuclear power stations, creating a major barrier to any future development because planning consent is devolved to Holyrood<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

\n In an exclusive interview with The Herald, Mr Shanks insisted the report was not simply a political pressure exercise, but said it strengthened the case for the SNP<\/a> to change course.\n<\/p>\n

\n He said: \u201cFirst of all, it’s a recognition that Scotland does have real potential for new nuclear. It’s got skills, it’s got communities who have had nuclear in the past, and so are more likely to support it.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt’s a huge economic opportunity for Scotland, but also we would point to the fact that nuclear, every single day, is providing base loads in Scotland alongside renewables, and our argument is you need both to have a stable, secure energy system.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Mr Shanks said Torness, which is due to stop generating in the coming years, underlined the urgency of the debate.\n<\/p>\n

\n Torness (Image: Gordon Terris)\n<\/p>\n

\n He added: \u201cTorness is due to switch off in the coming years, and Scotland would have no new nuclear, so it’s a genuine argument about we think there is huge amounts to be gained for Scotland by having new nuclear, but also really important for Scotland’s energy security.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cBut beyond that, I repeat what I have said in the past. We respect the devolution settlement. The Scottish government has a view on not approving planning applications for new nuclear. We are not in the business of riding roughshod over that, but I am not going to stop making the case for the fact that Scotland is missing out.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n The UK Government<\/a> is pursuing what it calls a \u201cgolden age of nuclear\u201d, including backing Sizewell C on the Suffolk coast and small modular reactors in North Wales.\n<\/p>\n

\n Ministers argue that new nuclear can provide reliable low-carbon power when wind output is low, while supporting supply chains, apprenticeships and long-term engineering jobs.\n<\/p>\n

\n Mr Shanks said Scotland risked becoming reliant on nuclear power generated elsewhere in Britain rather than building its own capacity.\n<\/p>\n

\n He said the UK Government\u2019s argument was that \u201cScotland will end up being reliant on nuclear being imported from other parts of the UK on days where there’s low wind\u201d.\n<\/p>\n

\n He added: \u201cWe just think that’s just the wrong way to look at this.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Asked which areas identified in the report were the most realistic candidates for new nuclear development, Mr Shanks said the UK Government could not go much further while the Scottish Government\u2019s opposition remained in place.\n<\/p>\n

\n He said sites that had previously hosted nuclear facilities were \u201cobviously particularly strong sites\u201d, naming Torness and Hunterston as the most recent examples.\n<\/p>\n

\n Mr Shanks said: \u201cI was at Hunterston just a few months ago to see it being handed over to the decommissioning authority. There’s huge potential there, because there’s land available, there’s a significant grid connection, but there’s also obviously two or 300 skilled workers who are working in nuclear right now, so those are the greatest potential.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n However, he said detailed site evaluation could not progress \u201cwhile there’s a block from the Scottish government\u201d.\n<\/p>\n

\n The nuclear industry now employs a record 98,000 people across the UK, according to the Nuclear Industry Association, with 11,000 new jobs created last year following government-led investment.\n<\/p>\n

\n But ministers say Scotland recorded the smallest jobs growth in the sector last year because of the absence of new projects.\n<\/p>\n

\n Mr Shanks said the number of jobs Scotland could gain would depend on the scale of any future development, but pointed to \u201c10s of 1000s\u201d of people employed in building Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C, and thousands expected to work on small modular reactors in Anglesey.\n<\/p>\n

\n He said there would be jobs in Scotland<\/a> through the wider nuclear supply chain even without new reactors north of the Border, but argued more opportunities would be unlocked if projects were built in Scotland.\n<\/p>\n

\n He said: \u201cMore than 70 per cent of the supply chain for the SMRs of Wales will be built in Britain, that’s jobs and opportunities, but obviously we could open up even more opportunities if we were actually building the projects in Scotland as well.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n He added: \u201cAt Torness there’s 300 or 400 people currently working in Torness that have skills that will now have to go and look for work outside of Scotland, and I met a big number of the 200 people that are still working at Hunterston, who once they finish the decommissioning work there, will also have to look for jobs outside of Scotland.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cSo, we’re going to lose jobs from Scotland at the very moment we should be using their skills and talents to build new projects.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Mr Shanks said he had met Stephen Gethins, the Scottish Government\u2019s new energy minister, three times, but had not yet discussed the report with him specifically.\n<\/p>\n

\n He said: \u201cI will raise this issue, but I’m also not going to let this be the blocker to us working together where we do have agreement on, whether that’s on offshore wind or storage for energy or everything else.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe work together where we can. This is an area where we disagree, and I’ll keep making the argument, but equally the people of Scotland would expect us to work together where we can, and we will do that.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n The report concludes that Scotland has land areas with high potential for new nuclear development from a technical perspective.\n<\/p>\n

\n But it says further detailed site-specific studies would be required before any project could proceed, including assessments of grid requirements, community engagement and the development of a commercial case.\n<\/p>\n

\n A Scottish Government spokesperson said ministers remained opposed to new nuclear.\n<\/p>\n

\n Minister for Energy Stephen Gethins said: \u201cNew nuclear would be incredibly expensive and the levy placed on energy bills to pay for nuclear reactors will cost Scottish electricity bill payers \u00a3300 million over the next decade. Nuclear reactors also produce a legacy of dangerous radioactive waste.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe Scottish Government is focused on supporting the development of Scotland\u2019s renewable energy potential \u2013 which provides jobs, are safer and doesn\u2019t leave a legacy of nuclear waste.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n The SNP has repeatedly argued that Scotland\u2019s energy future should be built around renewables, storage, hydrogen, carbon capture and grid upgrades, rather than new nuclear capacity.\n<\/p>\n

\n Supporters of nuclear power say it provides dependable low-carbon generation and could help retain skilled workers in communities with decades of nuclear expertise.\n<\/p>\n

\n Opponents argue new reactors are too expensive, too slow to build and leave unresolved questions over waste and decommissioning.\n<\/p>\n

\n For now, the report leaves the central question unresolved: whether Scotland\u2019s opposition to new nuclear can withstand renewed pressure from Westminster, industry and trade unions as the UK Government presses ahead with projects elsewhere.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"READ MORE: The study, carried out by Great British Energy-Nuclear, found that Scotland has areas which could be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":666787,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[1397,90,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-666786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=666786"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666786\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/666787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=666786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=666786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=666786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}