[NukeNet] UK Seen Giving Green Light to New Nuclear Plants

[Bill Smirnow]

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-britain-nuclear.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
 UK Seen Giving Green Light to New Nuclear Plants
  a..                E-Mail
  b.. Print
  c.. Save
By REUTERS
Published: January 2, 2008
Filed at 5:36 a.m. ET

Skip to next paragraph
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is expected to give the go-ahead to a new
generation of nuclear power stations next week, sparking a frenzy of
deal-making by nuclear firms as well as a fresh challenge from environmental
campaigners.

"I don't think the government has any other option," said analyst David
Cunningham at Arbuthnot Securities. "It's a necessary evil."

Nuclear operators say they could have new UK plants running by 2017, helping
Britain to meet its 2020 goals for combating climate change.

The government green light, expected on Tuesday, is likely to be accompanied
by publication of an Energy Bill to be fast-tracked through parliament
alongside the Climate Change Bill and the Planning Bill.

The trio of bills form the backbone of the government's new energy and
climate policy for the next decades.

The British decision is also being closely watched by other governments,
many of which increasingly view nuclear power as an essential part of the
energy mix to keep the lights on and combat global warming from burning
fossil fuels.

But they face varying degrees of public opposition.

While the United States is well on the way towards a new generation of
nuclear plants, other countries like Germany are phasing out nuclear power
because of safety concerns.

The UK public is divided on the issue, with 44 percent saying companies
should have the option of investing in new nuclear and 37 percent
disagreeing.

In February a high court judge overturned the British government's initial
go-ahead, saying it failed to consult the public properly.

Greenpeace says a decision in favor of nuclear next week would still be
unlawful, largely because people were given flawed information in the second
consultation and because there is still no plan for radioactive waste.

However, the judicial decision in February was on the basis of procedure
rather than content, so a fresh legal challenge might have to follow a
different tack.

BALANCE OF RISKS

But many think the government would prefer a legal challenge from
environmentalists to risking missing its CO2 targets due to the
unreliability of renewable energy from sources such as wind and waves and to
public reluctance to cut energy use.

Britain's main nuclear power firm British Energy is in talks with more than
10 companies to form partnerships for constructing plants, most likely in
southern England.

The company is upgrading links from the UK electricity grid to its four
southern sites -- Sizewell on the east coast, Hinkley in the southwest and
Dungeness and Bradwell in the southeast.

If given the green light, it will form joint-venture companies with
international partners, each one linked to a specific site, sources say.

"Each of those four British Energy sites has been judged to be viable, but
they're not necessarily the only sites," said Tony Ward of Ernst & Young's
utilities team.

He warned that with just over 30 nuclear plants under construction globally,
and many more planned, utilities would have to move quickly to get
themselves ahead of expected bottlenecks in the supply chain.

Business Secretary John Hutton has stressed the importance of a wide range
of energy sources in recent speeches, which many interpret as a vote for new
nuclear.

"He seems to be laying the groundwork for a decision," said a Greenpeace
spokesman. "But he's sailing very close to the wind, as the government can't
yet say it's made up its mind."

(Additional reporting by Jeremy Lovell)
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: reuters_sidebar.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 710 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://mail.energyjustice.net/pipermail/nukenet_energyjustice.net/attachments/20080102/71733ea9/attachment.gif