Cabinet challenge to nuclear proposals
Guardian Unlimited Politics | Special Reports | Cabinet challenge to nuclear proposals
Patrick Wintour and Mark Milner
Saturday October 1, 2005
The Guardian
Tony Blair will have to face down opposition within the cabinet if he goes ahead with plans to build a new generation of nuclear power stations as the best way of meeting the country's climate change targets. Cabinet ministers hope to enlist the support of the Treasury in opposing the prime minister. They argue that the achilles heel of nuclear power is the cost of decommissioning sites and storing radioactive waste, which they put as high as £90bn, substantially higher than the £48bn cited for Britain in April 2003.
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Opposition is likely to be most forceful from Margaret Beckett, the environment secretary, and Peter Hain, the Northern Ireland secretary and a former energy minister. The current energy minister, Malcolm Wicks, has insisted he is nuclear neutral and has said any new nuclear plants must operate without a subsidy.
News of the cabinet division on nuclear policy came amid unease about the future of the UK's existing stations. British Nuclear Fuels Ltd confirmed yesterday that it would like to sell British Nuclear Group (BNG), a subsidiary which is deeply involved in cleaning up Britain's nuclear legacy. BNFL's plans, revealed by the Guardian, drew a warning from the Prospect trade union that selling BNG, probably to an overseas buyer, could affect the British nuclear industry's ability to build new reactors.
Mr Blair is chairing the relevant cabinet committee and believes his commitment to combat global warming will help him overcome the opposition. He is increasingly convinced that Britain must build new stations because he believes the industry is more efficient than a massive investment in renewables, such as wind and wave power. The new stations would be privately built, without subsidy, mainly on existing civil nuclear sites.
At party conference Mr Blair announced an energy white paper for publication next year, three years after a previous white paper in 2003 put the emphasis on renewables. The announcement, the subject of lengthy prior discussion and nervousness in Downing Street, is a clear sign that Mr Blair has decided to follow the French, and the Americans in leaning on nuclear.
At present, Britain's 12 nuclear power stations provide 22% of the UK's electricity. Unless they are replaced, there will only be three nuclear power stations in operation by 2020, producing just 7% of the UK's requirements. A new generation of nuclear plants would only add around 10% to the UK's volume of existing radioactive waste over a 60-year operating lifetime, the nuclear industry claims.
Green groups say nuclear would only cut British carbon emissions by 8%. They also question the methodolgy behind claims that nuclear energy will be cheap. They claim the planned sell-off of BNG, is another sign of the special treatment given to nuclear industry.
The Labour manifesto recommitted the government to cuts its carbon dioxide emissions by 20% below 1990 levels by 2010, but on current projections emissions will only be cut by 14% by 2010. A climate change programme review is due out at the end of the year explaining how Britain can get back on course.
Nuclear sceptics within the cabinet are also pinning their hopes on EU carbon trading schemes. In the EU more than 12,000 plants across Europe take the cost of carbon into account in their operations. But the nuclear industry feels the political tide is heading in its direction after an effective lobbying operation at the Labour conference. The industry has the support of many of the big unions due to the number of jobs at stake.
Patrick Wintour and Mark Milner
Saturday October 1, 2005
The Guardian
Tony Blair will have to face down opposition within the cabinet if he goes ahead with plans to build a new generation of nuclear power stations as the best way of meeting the country's climate change targets. Cabinet ministers hope to enlist the support of the Treasury in opposing the prime minister. They argue that the achilles heel of nuclear power is the cost of decommissioning sites and storing radioactive waste, which they put as high as £90bn, substantially higher than the £48bn cited for Britain in April 2003.
Article continues
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Opposition is likely to be most forceful from Margaret Beckett, the environment secretary, and Peter Hain, the Northern Ireland secretary and a former energy minister. The current energy minister, Malcolm Wicks, has insisted he is nuclear neutral and has said any new nuclear plants must operate without a subsidy.
News of the cabinet division on nuclear policy came amid unease about the future of the UK's existing stations. British Nuclear Fuels Ltd confirmed yesterday that it would like to sell British Nuclear Group (BNG), a subsidiary which is deeply involved in cleaning up Britain's nuclear legacy. BNFL's plans, revealed by the Guardian, drew a warning from the Prospect trade union that selling BNG, probably to an overseas buyer, could affect the British nuclear industry's ability to build new reactors.
Mr Blair is chairing the relevant cabinet committee and believes his commitment to combat global warming will help him overcome the opposition. He is increasingly convinced that Britain must build new stations because he believes the industry is more efficient than a massive investment in renewables, such as wind and wave power. The new stations would be privately built, without subsidy, mainly on existing civil nuclear sites.
At party conference Mr Blair announced an energy white paper for publication next year, three years after a previous white paper in 2003 put the emphasis on renewables. The announcement, the subject of lengthy prior discussion and nervousness in Downing Street, is a clear sign that Mr Blair has decided to follow the French, and the Americans in leaning on nuclear.
At present, Britain's 12 nuclear power stations provide 22% of the UK's electricity. Unless they are replaced, there will only be three nuclear power stations in operation by 2020, producing just 7% of the UK's requirements. A new generation of nuclear plants would only add around 10% to the UK's volume of existing radioactive waste over a 60-year operating lifetime, the nuclear industry claims.
Green groups say nuclear would only cut British carbon emissions by 8%. They also question the methodolgy behind claims that nuclear energy will be cheap. They claim the planned sell-off of BNG, is another sign of the special treatment given to nuclear industry.
The Labour manifesto recommitted the government to cuts its carbon dioxide emissions by 20% below 1990 levels by 2010, but on current projections emissions will only be cut by 14% by 2010. A climate change programme review is due out at the end of the year explaining how Britain can get back on course.
Nuclear sceptics within the cabinet are also pinning their hopes on EU carbon trading schemes. In the EU more than 12,000 plants across Europe take the cost of carbon into account in their operations. But the nuclear industry feels the political tide is heading in its direction after an effective lobbying operation at the Labour conference. The industry has the support of many of the big unions due to the number of jobs at stake.
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