Blair ready to
go nuclear over future energy supplies
Nov 29, 2005 - Scotsman, The
Author(s): Fraser Nelson
TONY Blair will today launch the case for a new generation of nuclear
power stations, as he publishes the terms of a review which will lay out
in stark terms the energy supply choices facing Britain.
The Prime Minister will tell the Confederation of British Industry
(CBI) that he understands and shares the concerns over soaring gas
prices - and accepts ministers can no longer duck tough decisions.
While he will stop short of personally endorsing nuclear power, the
terms of his review will be defined in a way that points to no other
viable alternative if Britain is to keep its pledge to reduce greenhouse
gas. Mr Blair has been personally persuaded that only a new wave of
nuclear power stations can fill the gap which will emerge when Britain's
fleet of reactors starts to close down from next year.
The nuclear industry has said it requires no subsidy to build the
plants - and can do so on existing sites. It said it simply requires
planning permission and for ministers to place a floor under British
energy prices to guard against a future collapse.
The Scotsman understands that, through a series of low-key talks with
potential nuclear energy companies, ministers have in turn suggested
they can speed up planning permission process - which can normally take
several months, or years.
A nuclear plant normally takes at least seven years to produce
electricity on a mass scale. By 2012, all four of the UK's existing
Magnox nuclear reactors will have been decommissioned.
But first Mr Blair is keen to create a political consensus for new
nuclear power - knowing that the Conservatives are firmly in favour,
even if the Liberal Democrats are firmly opposed.
Mr Blair will approach the debate with two arguments: that Britain
cannot afford to be so dependent on increasingly volatile fossil fuel,
and it needs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
With trade unions also warming to the idea - with many fearing for
the 4,000 jobs in British Energy's nuclear plants - Mr Blair believes
the consultation being launched today will set the conditions for new
plants. He will argue for an extension in wind farms, but the review is
expected to conclude that a diverse supply of energy sources must
contain a strong nuclear component.
However, the backlash began yesterday, with the Lib Dems saying they
suspect Mr Blair's energy review will be a whitewash.
Norman Baker, the Lib Dems' environment spokesman, said: "This review
will serve little purpose if the Prime Minister has already made up his
mind."
Environmental campaigners have said they are not convinced by
arguments that nuclear power stations are carbon-neutral as they emit no
greenhouse gasses - and that they alone have the clout to fill an energy
gap.
Friends of the Earth (FoE) said it was preparing for a long battle
where it hoped to make the case that renewable energy sources, such as
wind farms, can fill the gap being left by the drop in nuclear energy.
Mr Blair "once again appears to be caving in to the demands of the
friends of nuclear power", said an FoE spokesman in Scotland, adding
that the CBI was an organisation in league with the nuclear industry.
FoE said it hopes today's energy review will "show that nuclear power
is unnecessary, as well as unsafe and uneconomic". Scotland, it added,
"could be a world leader in developing a low-carbon, nuclear-free
economy".
The Conservatives, by contrast, blamed Mr Blair for procrastination.
David Willetts, the Tory industry spokesman, said the energy review "is
testament to Labour's failure to tackle the problem a long time ago" and
said it took an energy crisis to spur Mr Blair into action.
Malcolm Wicks, the energy minister, will today lay out projections
showing a steady decline in nuclear energy - starting with the closure
of Dungeness A and Sizewell A next year, and Oldbury-on-Severn in 2008.
Although Mr Blair can give central government support to new nuclear
plants, it is constitutionally impossible to grant this ahead of local
planning authorities.
But Tory-controlled Suffolk County Council is understood to have told
the Department of Trade and Industry that it is keen to keep the jobs
associated with its Sizewell plant and is minded to approve an
application.
By the same token, the Scottish Executive has made clear its
hostility to replacing either Hunterston in Ayrshire or Torness in East
Lothian, which employ 1,025 between them.
Jack McConnell, the First Minister, has said he will use his devolved
powers to stop any application for a new nuclear plant. This is likely
to end any question of renewing Hunterston or Torness, as nuclear firms
are likely to go where planning application is easier.
Alex Salmond, leader of the Scottish National Party, said last night
that he doubts Mr McConnell would withstand pressure from London if any
were forthcoming. "If he can't agree a protocol on asylum seekers, then
he won't be able to stand in the way of a nuclear power station," Mr
Salmond said.
In spite of the heated opinions inside Holyrood, energy supply has
little devolved aspect to it as Scotland is wired to the UK national
grid, so it can still benefit from English nuclear power stations.
However, campaigners argue that Scotland has the most to gain from a
strategy focusing on windfarms and carbon capture technology such as
that planned in the GBP 400 million plant in Peterhead.
See epages for graphs and tables on Electricity generation by fuel
type, Nuclear power share of electrical generation, and Coal to gas, UK
fuel dependency.
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