nuclear-news

UK: public consultation on nuclear policy a farce

Labour’s love-in with the nuclear industry still blossoming Its support remains steadfast but not without a few indiscreet words slipping out at Labour conference on subsidies and public consultations Guardian UK Damian Carrington, 29 Sept 11

Labour’s love-in with the nuclear industry continued at a fringe event at the party conference in Liverpool, though not without some indiscreet words slipping out.

Public consultations on the building of new nuclear power stations are required by law, but would not cause problems in getting them built, Alan Raymant, COO of Horizon Nuclear Power said. “As a developer we are not obliged to follow the results of the public consultation. But we have to take it into account and explain why we have not include its recommendations,” he said. Horizon is the joint venture of E.on and RWE npower looking to build 6GW of new nuclear powers.

There was more: “It’s absolutely fundamental to have public consultations but we have to realise that we can’t please everyone if we are to have an economic project,” Raymant said.

He got support from Malcolm Grimston, an energy policy expert at Chatham House: “Public consultations have become a type of referendum. What they should be is: This needs to be done, do you have better ideas of how to do it?”…

Grimston argued that public and political consent must be considered as a factor just as important as the three fundamental issues of energy we usually talk about, cost, carbon and continuity of supply.

He’s right, as it’s no good having a plan that meets the three Cs if the public and their elected representatives won’t accept it. Raymant talked calmly about the long regulatory and business path that leads to switching on a new nuclear power plant, but in doing so emphasised the great challenge.

Horizon will apply for its licenses in 2013 and, “if market conditions are right”, start building in 2015. “We expect to be generating from our first site in Wylfa [in Wales] in early 2020,” Raymant said. Energy efficiency and renewables could be much faster out of the blocks, and less prone to delays and cost overruns, but will they provide enough secure power to keep the lights on? Well, that’s the debate….

the “farce” the coalition has got into where it can’t call its support for nuclear a “subsidy” because of the political contortion needed to keep the anti-nuclear LibDem party on board….

September 30, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | spinbuster, UK