Huhne softens opposition to new nuclear plants

Chris Huhne this morning used his first interview as energy and climate change secretary to qualify his opposition to nuclear power, admitting that he could usher in a new fleet of British nuclear reactors if energy companies can demonstrate that they will be built without public subsidy.

Speaking on the Today programme, the Lib Dem MP said that the coalition had agreed a series of compromises that were "obviously unpleasant" to both parties, including a deal that the Lib Dems would not oppose parliamentary votes to move forward plans for new nuclear power stations.

Stressing that nuclear developers still had numerous barriers to overcome before they would be given the go-ahead to build new plants, Huhne admitted that he could defy his party's historic opposition to nuclear power by ultimately approving plans for new reactors.

"If it turns out that for the first time in decades a consortium is prepared to build a nuclear power station without public subsidy then… that will in all probability go ahead," he said. "But I do think there are a lot of ifs there, and I do think this is a way forward that allows the integrity of the Conservative and Liberal Democrat position to be maintained."

The admission marks quite a turn around for the Lib Dems who opposed any plans for new nuclear power stations during the election, arguing that they would prove too costly and would drain investment away from renewable energy.

Speaking at a meeting of the Associate Parliamentary Renewable and Sustainable Energy Group back in 2006, when serving as environment spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, Huhne spelled out his party's opposition to nuclear power: "Our message is clear, no to nuclear, as it is not a short cut, but a dead end. Yes to energy saving, yes to renewables, and yes to a sustainable energy future. "

Tony Ward, partner and head of Ernst & Young's Power and Utilities team, predicted that energy firms would be watching closely to see if the coalition's agreement over nuclear power can work in practice.

"The compromise that accommodates the widely differing policy positions on new nuclear build offers a way forward that keeps existing nuclear plans on track, though the way of achieving the compromise may not be regarded as the strongest element when weighing up the robustness of the UK's energy policy," he said in a statement. "It will therefore be vitally important to see the agreement being effective in practice – an acid test will be the successful ratification of the National Policy Statement."

In addition to his comments on nuclear power, Huhne told the Today programme that he was fully committed to delivering a drastic increase in renewable energy capacity.

"The most scandalous legacy, frankly, of the last 13 years is that here we sitting on the island part of Europe that has the most potential for wind power, for tidal power, for wave power… yet we have one of the worst records of any country in the European Union for generating electricity from renewable," he said. "We have to get renewable way up."

He also argued that there was a strong case for improvements in energy efficiency. "We have to make sure we are much more efficient because the cheapest way to generate energy is actually to save energy," he said, adding that the combination of renewables and energy-efficiency investment would help to improve national security by reducing reliance on fossil fuel imports.