UK lawmakers say nukes won't fill energy gap, gas could

London (Platts)--18Apr2006

New nuclear power plants cannot help the UK fill its generation gap over
the next 10 years or help the UK reduce its carbon dioxide over that period,
"as it simply could not be built in time," members of parliament from the
House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee said in a report released
Sunday.
However, the MPs said that a second "dash-for-gas" similar to the
expansion of gas-fired power plants in the 1990s could be the answer. "The
potential generating gap during this period will need to be filled--largely by
an extensive program of new gas-fired power stations," the lawmakers said.
Another "dash-for-gas" would result in "significant carbon savings," contrary
to popular opinion, they said.
By 2016 between 15 GW and 20 GW of electricity plant is set to be
decommissioned, nearly a quarter of total UK generating capacity. About half
of this capacity is existing nuclear and half is coal.
Many commentators have questioned the wisdom of building new gas-fired
power plants on security of supply grounds, especially after flows for gas
from Russia to western Europe were interrupted during a dispute with Ukraine
early in 2006. But the MPs' report said that security of gas supplies was
probably a problem the UK would have to get over whether or not it had new
gas-fired power plants.
"We will in any case become highly dependent on foreign imports of fossil
fuels for our total energy requirements--including over twice as much natural
gas for industrial and domestic uses as we use for electricity generation,"
the MPs said.

 

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