U.K. Told to Triple Nuclear Share of Power Generation

www.bloomberg.com
Aug. 5

The U.K, should aim to triple the share of electric power it gets from nuclear plants by 2030 as a way to limit the nation's dependence in imported oil and gas, a report commissioned by Prime Minister Gordon Brown concluded. Former Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks, who is Brown's special adviser on the issue, said the government should aim to get 40% of its electric power from nuclear sources. Last year atomic plants supplied 12.5% of the U.K.'s electricity, half the level prevailing in the 1990s.

Wicks also suggested the government prioritize energy efficiency and step up efforts to wean the nation away from fossil fuels blamed for a damaging the Earth's climate. He said the nation won't meet its goals to cut pollution without reducing reliance on overseas energy supply and bolstering renewable sources such as wind and tidal power.

"When you add the national security dimension to it, we should start arguing that wind turbines and the rest are an important part of the U.K.'s energy defenses that we need to put in place in the coming years," Wicks said at a press conference in London today. "It needs to be clean, and it needs to be green, so it needs to be renewable or nuclear."

Nuclear Shortfall The majority of the U.K.'s 10 nuclear energy plants are due to close in the next two decades, and the proposed replacements are only likely to match the current proportion of generation, Wicks said. He called on the government to make a "strong and clear statement" on the need for additional plants. Brown's administration welcomed the report and said it's on track to meet its goals on protecting the environment. The report is part of the government's longer-term planning on how to meet promises for curbing emissions.

"We are already taking a number of responsible far-sighted steps to put the U.K, on a secure, low carbon, affordable energy footing," Ed Miliband, the Cabinet minister in charge of climate change, said in a statement. Greenpeace, the environmental pressure group, criticized the report, saying nuclear energy is not the answer and that there should be more emphasis on cutting waste and developing wind and wave power.

Greenpeace Criticism
"Nuclear is a dangerous distraction from the real solutions to climate change and energy security," Greenpeace's climate and energy spokesman, Robin Oakley, said in an e-mailed statement. "With the costs of nuclear reactors soaring and the only plants being built in the western world plagued with safety, financial and construction problems, it's clear where Miliband's priorities should lie."

Wicks said national security could be threatened by unstable energy supplies and the government should work with industry to slow the "dash for gas" and develop renewable and nuclear energy. The nation is more reliant on natural gas than any other country in Western Europe.

U.K, dependence on energy imports is likely to make up between 39% and 43% of consumption by 2020 and up to 50% in 2025, the report said. The proportion will depend in part on how much of the fuel for biomass and biofuel power plants is imported, Wicks said. He recommended the Foreign Office prioritize relationships with Norway, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to bolster energy security. He also suggested strategic storage facilities to ensure there is enough gas in the U.K, in hard winters and the country is not reliant on commercial storage.

Contracts for the supply of gas are not as good as those signed by other European countries, including Germany, Wicks said, and the government should become more closely involved. "I've looked at the supply obligations on companies and don't find it satisfactory," he said. "Government should look with industry at how we can have more secure contracts in the future."