Nuclear move welcomed but is it too late?
January 14th 2008

The Government's long awaited announcement last week, giving the go-ahead for a new generation of nuclear reactors, has received wide spread support, but fears remain over how quickly the UK will be able to act on this, and whether it is too little too late.

While nuclear energy has been described as a "clean, affordable and available solution to the energy challenges faced by the UK," (Bruno Comby, president of Environmentalists for Nuclear Energy (EFN) speaking to energy-online.net), it is unlikely to deliver in time to meet the impending energy gap.

"It is too little, too late," says Greenpeace, who suggests the Government's plans would only deliver "emissions reductions of 4% and not until after 2025."

Addressing MPs, John Hutton described a new generation of nuclear reactors as an important part of the solution to the dual challenges of lowering emissions and bridging the energy gap, yet he suggests the first station would not be up and running until 2020. Though EDF Energy says it could have a plant up and running by 2017, this is still not soon enough.

The EFN suggests things could move quicker "looking at the French example when they were faced with an energy gap in the 1970's," says Comby, "that was two years planning and five years to build.

The CBI, who agreed that, "the Government has reached the right conclusion about nuclear’s role in meeting the twin challenges of climate change and energy security." emphasised, “where Government must deliver is on ensuring that the reform of the planning system makes it possible to build new power generating facilities of all sorts in a timely fashion.”

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