Torness nuclear power plant 'needs long-term green transition plan to protect 700 jobs'

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Torness nuclear power station needs a long-term “green transition plan” to protect its 700 workers, it’s been claimed. It comes as Torness, near Dunbar in East Lothian, Scotland’s only remaining nuclear power station, last week had its lifespan extended by two years to 2030 by owners EDF.Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie called for the plant’s long-term future to be planned out now to avoid the fate of sites like Grangemouth oil refinery which is set to close next year.

Torness' extension was hailed by the UK Labour government which backs nuclear power as a key part of its goal to decarbonise the energy grid by the end of the decade.However, nuclear energy has long been opposed by the SNP government at Holyrood with an effective ban on new power stations.

Both the Nationalists and the Scottish Greens say the fuel is expensive to produce and unsafe and insist Scotland’s abundant renewable resources should be prioritised instead of nuclear.Torness employs about 550 people with a further 180 contractors also working full-time on site.

It was originally due to be decommissioned last year but has seen its lifetime extended several times now by French state-owned firm EDF Energy.Harvie told the Record that proposals for a post-nuclear future for Torness could include high-voltage direct current transmission or building connections for offshore wind.