LABOUR have committed £36 billion to energy projects in England since taking power last year – but given Scotland “barely a thought at all”, the SNP have said.
It comes as Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed a £14.2 billion UK Government investment in the Sizewell C nuclear power station in Sussex.
The nuclear plant is expected to take between nine and 12 years to build and cost around £20bn, according to initial estimates from 2020.
Reports in January said that industry insiders thought the true figure had risen to £40bn, but the UK Government insisted it did not recognise that number.
The investment in Sizewell C came alongside Reeves naming Rolls-Royce as the preferred bidder to build small modular reactors (SMRs) in a programme backed by a further £2.5bn of taxpayers’ cash.
The Chancellor will use Wednesday’s spending review to allocate tens of billions of funding for major infrastructure projects over the rest of the decade.
Labour are leaning towards nuclear plants as they try to decarbonise the UK energy grid by 2030. The last time Britain completed one was in 1987, which was the Sizewell B plant.
The SNP oppose nuclear power in Scotland, and the party’s energy spokesperson at Westminster Dave Doogan accused the UK Government of pouring money into “white elephants”.
The SNP added: “In total, since coming to office last year, the Labour Party has now committed £36bn to nuclear and carbon capture projects in England, whilst the Acorn Project has been forced to live with Labour’s warm words, but not a penny of commitment.”
Doogan said: "Yet more billions has been committed to English nuclear projects, yet we have no investment in the Acorn Carbon Capture project, Grangemouth has been shut down and Westminster's fiscal regime has ruined North-East energy jobs – Scotland isn't just an afterthought, it's barely a thought at all.
"The evidence is clear that nuclear is extortionate, takes decades to build and the toxic waste is a risk to local communities – Scotland's future is in renewables, carbon capture and links to Europe, not more money for white elephants.
"It is absurd that energy rich Scotland is home to fuel poor Scots and that while energy bills go up, Scottish energy jobs are going down – that's directly as a consequence of Westminster policy and the further squandering of cash on expensive nuclear won't change that.
'Only the SNP firmly believe money from Scotland's natural resources should benefit Scotland's people – something that's an alien concept to Scottish Labour MPs who cheer on investment in England at the expense of Scottish industry."
The UK Government has been approached for comment.
