Ed Miliband has been urged to intervene in a row over a mini nuclear power plant in Cumbria, amid fears a government quango is hoarding land needed for the project.
Moorside, located near Sellafield, is one of six sites currently being assessed by Great British Nuclear (GBN) as it aims to roll out a new generation of reactors.
However, MPs and businesses have warned the energy secretary that the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is putting Moorside’s hopes of hosting the first small modular reactors (SMRs) in jeopardy.
That is because GBN has signalled it will only pick sites that have enough land available for several SMRs.
As a result, Moorside is at risk of missing out after the NDA unveiled plans to use most of the site’s space for other decommissioning purposes.
In a letter seen by The Telegraph, MPs, Lords, business leaders and union officials urged Mr Miliband to instruct the NDA and GBN to prioritise the land at Moorside for new nuclear use “first and foremost”, warning that failure to do so would have “considerable” consequences.
“A lack of clear direction on Moorside is likely to knock West Cumbria out of the running for the GBN process and our community will once again have had their hopes raised and dashed,” the letter says.
One insider said the key qualities that GBN officials are looking for in sites are “scale and speed”, meaning how many SMRs they can accommodate and how ready they are for development.
Other options for the SMRs include Wylfa in Wales; Oldbury near Bristol; Bradwell, in Essex; Heysham, in Lancashire; and Hartlepool, in County Durham.
Visits to all the sites are understood to have been completed, and it is thought that GBN will submit its recommendations to ministers before the end of this year.
Moorside is seen as a potentially strong candidate because it is already in state ownership.
By comparison, Bradwell is still owned by China General Nuclear – which has been frozen out of future British nuclear projects – and Heysham and Hartlepool, owned by French giant EDF, are still used by operational nuclear plants.
Previous plans for a new nuclear power station on Moorside were scrapped after the Japanese conglomerate Toshiba pulled out of the project in 2018. The site would have generated about 7pc of the UK’s electricity needs.
The energy secretary visited Cumbria earlier this year, claiming that the area’s history around nuclear power, such as its links to Sellafield, put it in prime position to be a “clean energy superpower” of the future.
The mounting pressure on Mr Miliband and the NDA comes after Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister, effectively blocked a new coal mine in the area that would have created thousands of new jobs.
In its manifesto, Labour has vowed to roll out new nuclear power stations to strengthen the UK’s energy security.
A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesman said: “New nuclear power stations will play an important role in helping the UK achieve energy security and clean power while creating thousands of skilled jobs.
“Moorside is one of several sites that have the capability to host future civil nuclear projects, though no decisions have yet been made.
“We will continue to support Sellafield and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority in its important mission to manage our nuclear legacy and clean-up sites safely.”
An NDA spokesman said: “We are committed to decommissioning our sites safely, securely, and sustainably, leaving a positive long-lasting legacy for future generations.
“As an arms-length body, it is for us to support and implement policies and decisions made by the Government and as such we are working with our sponsor department, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and Great British Nuclear to explore how we can use our expertise, resource, and assets to best support ambitions, including greater energy independence, whilst ensuring we continue to deliver our mission.
“This includes consideration of how the land at Moorside may be used.”
A GBN spokesman declined to comment.
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