UK nuke industry must answer basic questions to have future: Wicks

UK nuke industry must answer basic questions to have future: Wicks

London (Platts)--21Mar2006

The UK nuclear industry needs to answer some fundamental questions, if it
is to be considered part of the future energy mix, energy minister Malcolm
Wicks said Tuesday.
Wicks said the nuclear industry must demonstrate that a shorter planning
process for new plants, as called for by industry, would not result in a
weakening of current safeguards.
"I issue a challenge to the nuclear industry," Wicks told the British
Nuclear Energy Society and European Nuclear Society Conference in London. "You
are calling for greater certainty over licensing. You are calling for shorter
planning processes. You are calling for the scope of planning inquiries to be
restricted. But my challenge to you then is to show me how this might work in
practice. How might you achieve these things while still maintaining the same
high levels of scrutiny and safeguards we have now?"
The UK's Energy Review, of which the future of nuclear power is an
important feature, ends April 14. But Wicks said that even if the review came
out in favor of nuclear power, that would not mean a green light for new
nuclear build.
"This is why we are tackling the issue of nuclear waste through the
creation of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, why we will be using the
findings of the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management to inform the Energy
Review and why we have asked the Health and Safety Executive to examine some
of the risks associated with potential new build and their approach to
ensuring industry sensibly manages these risks," he said.

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