'No quick fix' from nuclear power
March 6, 2006
Building new nuclear plants is not the answer to tackling climate change or securing Britain's energy supply, a government advisory panel has reported.
The Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) report says doubling nuclear capacity would make only a small impact on reducing carbon emissions by 2035.
The body, which advises the government on the environment, says this must be set against the potential risks.
The government is currently undertaking a review of Britain's energy needs.
It regards building nuclear capacity as an alternative to reliance on fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas.
As North Sea supplies dwindle, nuclear is seen by some as a more secure source of energy than hydrocarbon supplies from unstable regimes. Proponents say it could generate large quantities of electricity while helping to stabilise carbon dioxide CO2 emissions.
But the SDC report, compiled in response to the energy review, concluded that the risks of nuclear energy outweighed its advantages.
Pushing ahead
Jonathon Porritt, chair of the SDC, commented: "There's little point in denying that nuclear power has benefits, but in our view, these are outweighed by serious disadvantages.
"The Government is going to have to stop looking for an easy fix to our climate change and energy crises - there simply isn't one."
Advocates of nuclear power point out that a reactor emits virtually no carbon dioxide (CO2), the main greenhouse gas released from human activities, although building new power stations will involve emission of CO2.
But research by the SDC suggests that even if the UK's existing nuclear capacity was doubled, it would only provide an 8% cut on CO2 emissions by 2035 (and nothing before 2010).
While the SDC recognised that nuclear is a low carbon technology, with an impressive safety record in the UK, it identifies five major disadvantages:
- No long-term solutions for long-term storage of nuclear waste are yet available, says the SDC, and storage presents clear safety issues
- The economics of nuclear new-build are highly uncertain, according to the report
- Nuclear would lock the UK into a centralised energy distribution system for the next 50 years when more flexible distribution options are becoming available
- The report claims that nuclear would undermine the drive for greater energy efficiency
- If the UK brings forward a new nuclear programme, it becomes more difficult to deny other countries the same technology, the SDC claims
Future development
The panel does not rule out further research into new nuclear technologies and pursuing answers to the waste problem, as future technological developments may justify a re-examination of the issue.
But the report concludes that Britain can meet its energy needs without nuclear power.
"With a combination of low carbon innovation strategy and an aggressive expansion of energy efficiency and renewables, the UK would become a leader in low-carbon technologies," the SDC claims.
The Green Party says the government is determined to push ahead with nuclear power despite evidence that it is uneconomic.
The Liberal Democrats have also attacked the economic uncertainties of nuclear power.
The Conservatives are currently reviewing their energy policy. Zac Goldsmith, deputy chair of the party's environment policy review which is due to report in 18 months time, is strongly opposed to it.
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