New blow for nuclear

Nuclear power has suffered another significant blow to its credibility, with a damning assessment from a group of influential MPs. The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee report – ‘Keeping the Lights On: Nuclear, Renewables and Climate Change’ - claims that a new nuclear programme would take too long to develop and become fully operational in order to deliver immediate generating benefits. It also states that the proposed technology gives investors ‘little basis for assessing the risks’, and gives a distinctly unflattering judgment on the past history of nuclear in the UK, which it describes as being characterised by ‘extensive government subsidies, time and cost overruns, and poor operational performance’.

The Committee’s report follows a similarly dismissive report from the Sustainable Development Commission earlier in the year, which called the economic, environmental and practical elements of nuclear power into question.

"This report is a body blow to Tony Blair and those who think nuclear power deserves a second chance,” said Friends of the Earth Scotland's Chief Executive, Duncan McLaren. “Yet again an expert committee has found that greater use of renewables and energy efficiency is the way to secure this country's energy supplies. In this debate, nuclear power is simply an expensive and polluting distraction to the sensible alternatives.

"The committee also correctly identifies that is the government's failure to deliver the recommendations of the last Energy White Paper that is the problem. Instead of wasting any more valuable time the government should set about delivering what it said it would do last time,” added Mr. McLaren.