Its not often I agree with anything this government does but yesterday's announcement on the future of Nuclear energy is one of those occasions.
A new generation of Nuclear power plants will be key tools in tackling both climate change and energy security.
The green credentials of nuclear have been attacked in the past for good reason, but with today's priority being the reduction of CO2 emissions (nuclear plants produce near to zero in steady state) and with waste products in this generation of nuclear plants being only some 10% of the past then Nuclear really seems the green option.
Sure, how best to permanently store the waste is still an unresolved issue but better focus on that in the medium term than continue to pump greenhouse gasses out today.
I even agree that this is a target for a streamlined planning process - decisions on this need to be taken rapidly. The communities that will be affected need to have a full input into the process. But the decision on where to locate them should be taken on sound planning grounds not on who can shout loudest. Equally the idea of placing them next to existing plants seems sensible. Power stations unlike house are primarily national not local infrastructure so it is correct that national government makes the decisions.
Another important reason for going Nuclear is energy uncertainty in this uncertain world. Oil prices continue to trade at around $100 per barrel driven largely by the huge demand from China and India. This demand is likely just to increase increasing cost. But perhaps more pertinently most Oil and Gas is sourced from the more unstable regions of the former Soviet Republics and Middle Eastern states. Within the last couple of years we saw what the impact was of Russia turning off the gas pipeline to the Ukraine and into Western Europe,however briefly.
For all these reasons we need a Nuclear future and my only criticism of yesterday's statement is that the Government has taken so long to get to this point.
