By Alan Irving

Published at 11:11, Thursday, 21 June 2012

A MAJOR stumbling block standing in the way of building a new nuclear power station in Copeland has finally been overcome.

Gas and electricity regulator Ofgem has used its powers to allow NuGen, the prospective developers, to finally set foot on the ‘Moorside’ site so it can carry out investigations to see whether the land is suitable for reactor development.

But the issue of the mineral rights deep underground has still not been settled with Lord Egremont.

While NuGen now has the legal right to drill boreholes it is understood no building can take place until the mineral rights have been purchased from Lord Egremont. This is expected to involve a considerable sum of money. However, Ofgem’s intervention, breaks months of deadlock.

NuGen expects to move on to the site – Moorside close to Sellafield – in the next three months. Investigations may take up to two years.

The Spanish/French energy consortium has paid £20 million up front as an option to purchase Moorside in what could prove a £70 million deal.

The work will involve boring into the sub-soil not only to test the geology but also find what part of the 170-acre site offers the best location.

It could lead to a £9 billion investment for the area but NuGen won’t make the final decision until 2015 once the results of the groundwork investigations are known.

A NuGen spokesman said: “We welcome the decision as a milestone towards our aim of developing up to 3.6GW of new nuclear as part of our Moorside project.

“It grants statutory rights to entry so that we can undertake site investigation works at the site which has been designated for development of a new nuclear power station.

“NuGen applied to Ofgem under Standard Licence Condition 15 of its electricity generating licence to exercise rights of entry at the site including the sub-soil.

“While we had already secured access to the surface access to the sub-soil is also required in order to search and bore the site to establish whether the site is suitable for the construction of a new nuclear power station.”

David Moore, chairman of the West Cumbria (nuclear sites) Stakeholders Group, said: “Regulators sometimes get some stick but in this case it’s good to see one taking a responsible approach. No doubt NuGen’s fight with Lord Egremont over mineral rights will go on for a while longer, we look forward to it being sorted out to everyone’s satisfaction but happily but in the meantime Ofgem has allowed access to the land for NuGen to carry out investigations which hopefully will pave the way for new nuclear build and billions of pounds of investment. It is encouraging when other power station developers elsewhere appear to be having problems.”

Olivier Carret, NuGen’s chief operating director, said: “Although we alone can’t solve all the region’s difficulties our proposals at Moorside would contribute to economic development for its future.”

Britain’s Energy Coast chairman Brian Wilson told The Whitehaven News that cutting the first sod at Moorside holds the key to a £90 billion investment all told through West Cumbria’s new Economic Blueprint for West Cumbria.

Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk