Nuclear power
decision is due 'within a year' Minister admits any go- ahead for new
stations would upset many
Oct 3, 2005 - Daily Telegraph London
Author(s): Malcolm Moore
THE Government said yesterday it would decide whether to build new
nuclear power stations within a year.
"We have to now make government decisions so we can put proposals
before the British people next year,'' said Alan Johnson, Secretary of
State for Trade and Industry.
"Tony Blair has said right from the general election in May that we
need to tackle this issue within this parliament; and I think early in
this parliament is the time for government to make its decisions,'' he
said.
The minister, speaking on the BBC's Sunday AM programme, said he was
"agnostic'' about the issue, and that "we're generally neutral''.
However, Mr Johnson admitted that many Labour members would be
furious at new nuclear construction. "It is still very controversial -
what do we do with the waste?'' he said.
The Government has stalled and fudged the issue of new nuclear build
for years.
Consequently, Mr Johnson's comments, together with a series of
increasingly pro-nuclear hints from the Prime Minister, convinced
commentators that the Government has now come to terms with the idea of
new nuclear power stations.
Although British Energy is extending the life of most of the current
stations, this will only add another 20 to 25 years, and nuclear power
stations take a great deal of time to plan and build.
Nuclear power is also seen as the only way Britain can deliver on its
greenhouse gas-emission targets under the Kyoto protocol.
"Many environmentalists now accept that the more we increase
renewables, we are just running to catch up, because as nuclear energy
diminishes, we are losing a form of CO2-free emission,'' Mr Johnson
said.
Industry sources said the Government had raised the nuclear issue to
head off an expected pro-nuclear campaign from the Conservatives. "They
have a short window to push the nuclear issue while electricity prices
are high,'' said one source, who did not wish to be named. "When prices
come down, because there is more gas on the market, the debate will be
less interesting,'' he said.
Separately, the Government's ability to shape nuclear policy may be
affected by British Nuclear Fuels' plans to privatise several of its
major plants. BNFL wants to sell Sellafield, Sizewell and Dungeness.
Mr Johnson said of the proposals: "That's not a decision that has
come to me yet. I think they wrote to us on Friday.''
The unit that BNFL wants to sell decommissions and cleans up
redundant nuclear facilities. The cost of cleaning up Britain's nuclear
legacy is about pounds 48billion, so there are likely to be several
interested parties.
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