Today the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Chris Huhne has re-stated the Government's committment to new nuclear power stations.
In particular, he has stated that:
"We are on course to make sure that the first new nuclear power station opens on time in 2018... There are a number of sites that have been identified around the country and those are generally on sites where we have previously had, for example, nuclear power stations and where the local people are very keen that there should be new nuclear build"
I welcome the Government's committment to nuclear power. I have been pressing for Dungeness to be included on the list of recommended sites for new power stations, after it was removed from that list by Labour.
It would certainly seem to fit the bill in that there are already nuclear power stations on the site, there is considerable local support for a new power station and it is a site that the energy companies believe can be developed by 2018.
Given the need for the country to have new and reliable sources of low carbon energy in the next decade, I would hope that the Government, in reviewing the consultation on nuclear sites, would include Dungeness.
A new power station at Dungeness would also give a tremendous boost to the local economy.
Damian Collins MP