UK minister mulls allowing new nuclear power plants
Date: 06-Sep-01
Country: UK
Although none has been built for 14 years, Wilson said there was no moratorium on building new nuclear reactors in Britain, unlike some European countries. And the country faces some stark options as the existing stations near the end of their life.
"The review will have to ask the question of whether there is a place for nuclear new build," he told Reuters at an oil industry exhibition in Aberdeen.
Britain launched a review of its energy policy in July to tackle the problems of increasingly strict emissions targets, growing reliance on imported energy, and the expected decommissioning most of its nuclear plants within 20 years.
The powerful environmental lobby is opposed to atomic power because of its radiation risks, but nuclear helps Britain meet strict carbon dioxide emissions targets because it does not create pollution suspected of contributing to global warming.
"The question needs to be asked because nuclear accounts for 25 percent of the UK's electricity and if you lose nuclear and at the same time you are trying to reduce emissions, it is difficult to square that circle," Wilson added.
Britain's governing Labour Party was fiercely anti-nuclear in the 1970s and 1980s, but the current government has distanced itself from that policy, despite continued popular opposition.
Wilson said there was no question of the government building a new station itself, as it is seeking private sector solutions to power generation.
"The question is whether someone will make the commercial decision to build new stations as the existing ones approach the end of their lives," he said.
The government plans to sell a 49 percent stake in British Nuclear Fuels.
Wilson said the review had yet to reveal its findings, but said he personally supported nuclear power.
"I am supportive of the contribution of nuclear power, but my personal preferences aren't the determining factor," he said.