Representation by Alan Goodridge
- Date submitted
- 26 September 2020
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
Like many residents I am most concerned about the plans for Sizewell C. I am of course concerned about the disruption, the impact on wildlife & habitats, the marine environment and the visual impact on an area of outstanding natural beauty. The dangers of building such a site on a coast that is subject to erosion and with the unpredictable risks associated with rising sea levels also a very big concern. I know that many local residents will already have raised these issues with you and argued the case better than I can but I would like to make two particular points. 1. It seems to me that nuclear energy is a very expensive option. The price of renewables is falling and now make nuclear look much less attractive. Energy storage options are improving rapidly and and reducing in cost thus removing the main argument in favour of nuclear. I can foresee the terrible situation in which we go through all the pain of building this monstrous eyesore on our beautiful coast only to find that it is no longer economically viable and may not even be ultimately commissioned. 2. The expected operational life does not justify the years to build, decommission and store spent fuel. Sizewell is expected to be operational for at best 60 years but take 9 to 12 years to build and several years to decommission. An optimistic forecast is that the nuclear waste will remain dangerous for at least 200 years. It seems irresponsible to burden future generations with these dangers for such a long time for such a relatively short period of operation.