The Green Party in Northern Ireland has pledged to follow the example set by its Scottish counterparts by opposing plans to build nuclear power stations in the six counties.

The announcement came on the day that the Irish Green's opened its first office in the north of the Ireland. The Green's only MLA in the north, Brian Wilson, said:

"Nuclear power is not the solution to climate change and energy security concerns."

Mr Wilson's comments were backed up by Scottish Green Party co convenor Robin Harper, whose party is in a coalition Government with the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP), and was in Bangor for the office opening:

"Greens in Scotland have played a key part in blocking proposals for new nuclear power stations… We will be offering every support we can to their campaign to ensure Northern Ireland can, like Scotland, move towards a low-carbon and nuclear-free economy"

The SNP and the Green Party have opposed Westminster's plans to build new nuclear power stations in the country, but are now faced with the difficult task of providing alternatives. Scotland hopes to generate 50% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020 and SNP Leader, Alex Salmond, believes that Scotland has the potential to become the "renewables power house of Europe."

Indeed Scotland does have a the possibility to be a major European leader in renewables with wood fuel, hydroelectric and wind power all waiting to be tapped under the right circumstances. The political will is there in the form of the SNP/Green coalition, but sometimes it's just a matter of persuading the public.

This could be seen this week with the warning from Scottish Government Ministers that the plan to build Europe's biggest onshore wind farm in Lewis could be rejected, unless compelling new reasons could be found for its approval. The ambitious plan would see 76 giant turbines built on the Hebridean island and would be so big that it would meet 11% of Scotland's energy requirements.

The advantages that such a project would have for meeting the SNP's energy targets are obvious, but are being outweighed by the controversy that the plan has caused among the local communities in Lewis who do not want the wind farm built in their back yard. The SNP/Green coalition therefore has some difficult choices to make in the near future if they are going to realise their renewable energy ambitions and show that nuclear fuel is not needed.

Moreover, yet further controversy can be expected with the Scottish Executive's announcement yesterday that seven or eight waste incinerator plants will be built, which will take up to 25% of Scotland's waste, while recycling targets will be increased from 40% to 70%. Maybe the SNP/Greens should look at the storm that a proposed incinerator is causing in Cornwall. The incinerator, planned for St Dennis in Restormel, is likely to come under public scrutiny following claims that the incinerator is not wanted by the community and will dramatically affect the health and air quality within a 25 mile radius of the proposed site, according to the St Dennis Anti-Incinerator Campaign Group (STIG).

(Article preparation - Rhisiart Tal-e-bot)

J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League

31/01/08

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