LONDON - May 17

 

Building a new generation of British nuclear power stations could not be the sole solution to meeting future energy needs, but must be seriously considered if Britain is to avoid dependence on foreign gas imports, Prime Minister Tony Blair said Wednesday.

Blair has reviewed a first draft of a government-commissioned review of energy policy - due to be published in July - and told business leaders in a speech on Tuesday that Britain faces a serious energy shortfall by 2025.

He told his weekly questions session in the House of Commons that any failure to consider building new nuclear power stations - a policy opposed by environmental groups - would be a "collective dereliction of our duty."

"We have to be prepared to take the decisions necessary to make sure we don't end up in a situation where we are entirely dependent on foreign imports of gas," Blair said.

"I do not believe that nuclear power is the sole answer, of course renewables are important, energy efficiency is important ... all the measures we are taking will assist us," he said.

"But I do believe we have to debate very seriously whether we need to replace nuclear power stations to guarantee the future energy needs of this country, because otherwise we would be engaged in a collective dereliction of our duty," Blair said.

Blair told business leaders Tuesday that without a change in policy, Britain would become 80 to 90 percent dependent on gas imported from the Middle East, Africa and Russia by 2025.

The Department for Trade and Industry, responsible for energy policy, said Wednesday that Britain currently imports 20 percent of the gas it consumes, but could not immediately say where the supplies were coming from.

Nuclear power provides one-fifth of Britain's electricity, but the country's 12 nuclear power plants are aging and, unless replaced, will provide only 4 percent of electricity by 2010.