Britain must have 'atomic ambition' – with 40% of energy from nuclear

Published on Wednesday 5 August 2009 22:03

MORE than a third of the UK's electricity should be generated from nuclear energy, an official report urged yesterday.

Former energy minister Malcolm Wicks said between 35 and 40 per cent of electricity should be generated from nuclear energy after 2030.

He said this would help to improve future energy security by decreasing reliance on imported gas, and cut greenhouse gas emissions.

About 15 per cent of electricity in the UK is provided by nuclear. The Scottish Government has ruled out any new nuclear power stations being built north of the Border and intends to focus on renewables and clean-coal technology to meet climate change targets and achieve energy security.

Mr Wicks said: "At a time when the UK is becoming increasingly reliant on imported fossil fuels, we need to ask whether the UK should be more ambitious on nuclear power.

"When national security considerations are added to climate change exigencies, I believe the answer is yes."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown welcomed the report, saying: "We are already taking a number of responsible, far-sighted steps to put the UK on a secure, low-carbon, affordable energy footing in the long-term and I am grateful for the work undertaken by Malcolm Wicks."

A spokesman for the Department of Energy and Climate Change said: "We've never set a number on the amount of nuclear we want, but nor have we ever set a cap. We think 40 per cent of electricity could be low carbon by 2020, including the first new nuclear and beyond that it will have to play a significant role if we're to all but decarbonise electricity by the middle of the century."

WWF Scotland's director, Dr Richard Dixon, said Mr Wicks' recommendation must be resisted.

"Nuclear power is a polluting and expensive distraction from the real action required by politicians to tackle climate change," he said.

"The recommendations in this report to effectively rig the energy market in favour of new nuclear must not be allowed to undermine continued support for renewables."

And Robin Oakley, head of Greenpeace's climate and energy campaign, said:

"The best way to secure Britain's power supplies is to cut out the appalling waste in the system and to harness the huge renewable energy sources across our windswept island."

Dr Neil Bentley, the CBI's director of business environment, said: "We agree the best way of delivering energy security and meeting climate change targets is by developing a balanced and cost-effective mix of energy sources, including wind and other renewables, nuclear, gas and clean coal."

Shadow energy minister Charles Hendry said it was an "appalling legacy of this government" that there were only 14 days' gas storage in the UK, compared with 100 in Germany and 120 in France.