TORNESS: GREENS HIT OUT AT LACK OF COMMUNITY CONSULTATION
Scottish Greens today (16 Feb) hit out at the lack of public consultation after French multinational EDF Energy announced that the operating life of
the Torness nuclear plant in East Lothian would be extended seven years from 2023 to 2030.
Sarah Beattie-Smith, Infrastructure and Investment spokesperson for the Scottish Greens and MSP candidate for South of Scotland, said:
“The announcement from EDF to extend the life of Torness is bad news for East Lothian and bad for Scotland. The fact that a private company can dictate
energy policy for another seven years undermines democracy, both in the local community in East Lothian and nationally at a time when the Scottish
Government ought to be focused on our ambitious climate targets.
"Torness is almost 30 years old and we should be planning for its decommissioning. With Scotland's abundant renewable energy resources and the need to
focus on energy efficiency, we have no need for nuclear and we should be investing in jobs and infrastructure that do not store up exorbitant costs for
future generations. At the last count the cost of dealing with the UK's existing nuclear waste legacy was £100 billion.
"Torness does bring skilled jobs to the East Lothian and Borders economy but the focus of local authorities and the Scottish Government must be the
transfer of those skills to sustainable, renewable energy and industry. Our plan to create over 200,000 new jobs does exactly that, whilst also
providing the investment that Scotland so desperately needs in a clean, renewable future."