Why dump on us? Power, pragmatism and the periphery in the siting of new nuclear reactors in the UK

Abstract

The answer to the question "Why dump on us?" is a pragmatic one, though supported by underlying power relations. In the UK 10 sites, mostly at existing nuclear locations, have been listed for the potential development of new nuclear power stations. They are sites where land is in friendly ownership, some infrastructure is available and where some public support may be anticipated. This pragmatic siting strategy is supported by a strategic siting assessment process which, in effect, provides premature legitimation for a predetermined strategy. The sites are examples of "peripheral communities", socially and economically marginalised by a process of "peripheralisation" which reproduces and reinforces their relative powerlessness. Power relations shifting over time in response to changing discourses on nuclear energy explain the persistence of peripheral communities as sites for nuclear activities. The emergence of a contemporary Discourse of Security has emboldened government and the nuclear industry to focus new build once again on these sites. The burden of nuclear risk extending into the far future thus becomes concentrated at a few socially and physically vulnerable locations. In the push for new nuclear there has been greater centralisation of decision making and a concomitant diminution of participation and community involvement. Issues of fairness between communities and generations have been subordinated in the hurry to proceed. "Why dump on us?" thereby becomes a plaintive recognition of the inevitable unfairness to specific places of a broader, though controversial, purpose of meeting energy needs. © 2010 Taylor & Francis.