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UK’s new coalition government will promote renewable energy, not nuclear

Blue and yellow make green as the new Government’s policies emerge, Telegraph UK, 12 May 2010, Nuclear power, coal and airport expansion look like being the big losers under the new government,  with energy-saving, renewables and greener transport the big winners.  ……

Nuclear, at first sight seems in less danger. The coalition is genuinely split on it, with the LibDems unremittingly hostile while the Tories support it, if less enthusiastically than the outgoing government. They have agreed to bring forward a national planning statement to make nuclear new build possible, and that LibDem MPs will merely abstain, rather than oppose it. They have also acceded to a key demand from the nuclear industry, a floor price for carbon. But this is likely to benefit renewables more than the atom and any further measures or subsidies for it will be ruled out. Nuclear power stations are unlikely to be built without them, and the new energy secretary, LibDem Chris Huhne, will not go out of his way to help them.
Instead the new government will increase Britain’s already daunting targets for increasing energy from renewables, promote wave and tidal power and energy from waste, give householders loans for installing energy efficiency measures (to be paid back from the savings they make), build high speed rail and set up a recharging network for electric cars.  If it does all this, it will be well on its way to achieving its goal – common to both coalition partners – of building a low carbon economy……

Blue and yellow make green as the new Government’s policies emerge – Telegraph Blogs

May 13, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, UK | antinuclear, energy efficiency, nuclear wastes, renewable energy, renewables