British govt backs new nuclear plants

A fresh row about the cost and safety of nuclear power will flare in the UK today because of a decision by the British government to give the go-ahead for a new generation of nuclear power stations.

British Business Secretary John Hutton will tell MPs that new stations should be built, probably on existing sites, to ensure future security of supply and help produce a balanced energy mix.

The announcements will delight pro-nuclear groups, who have been pressing ministers to make an early decision to replace the current nuclear power stations, most of which will close by 2023.

Anti-nuclear campaigners, including Greenpeace, will attack the British government, which could face legal action before new sites can be built.

Greenpeace won a High Court ruling last year after complaining that the British government’s consultation process was flawed, and the group has not ruled out taking fresh action.

Executive director John Sauven said: “There is a lie at the heart of the government’s coming announcement on nuclear power. Ministers’ own research found that even 10 new reactors would only cut the UK’s carbon emissions by about 4% some time after 2025, and the so-called energy gap will open before new nuclear power stations can be built.

“Going for nuclear allows politicians like Gordon Brown to project the impression that they are taking difficult decisions to solve difficult problems when they are doing nothing of the sort.

“We need energy efficiency, cleaner use of fossil fuels, renewables and state-of-the-art decentralised power stations like they have in Scandinavia. These technologies have the potential to deliver reliable low-carbon energy quicker and cheaper. They are also safe and are more globally applicable, unlike nuclear, but these energy solutions will be strangled if cash and political energy get thrust at nuclear power instead.”

A spokesman for the British Business and Enterprise Department said: “We need to make a decision on whether we should continue to get some of our electricity from nuclear, which is a low-carbon form of making energy.

“Decisions need to be made because climate change is accelerating, a significant number of the power stations which currently generate our electricity, including nuclear, will close over the next two decades and our domestic supplies of fuels are running out.”

Friends of the Earth director Tony Juniper said: “The decision to encourage the construction of new nuclear stations in the UK is both irrational and unfortunate.

“Climate change is the biggest threat the planet faces. If the government is serious about tackling it we must stop tinkering in the margins put in place strong policies to support renewable energy. We need a revolution in the way we meet our energy needs.”

Green Party MEP Caroline Lucas said: “Gordon Brown is guilty of the most staggering failure of political vision. The reason that Germany has 300 times as much solar power and 10 times as much wind power than the UK is simply because German politicians, led by the Greens, have had the political will to lead the way.

“On energy efficiency, the government’s own figures show there is the potential to save over 30% of all energy used in the UK solely through efficiency measures that would also save money overall.”

CND chairwoman Kate Hudson said: “Embarking on the creation of a new generation of nuclear plants sends the wrong message internationally, where building a nuclear reactor is a necessary step in the creation of a nuclear weapon.

"If we want any credibility in discouraging the proliferation of nuclear weapons, we cannot discourage others from building reactors whilst we construct many more of our own.”