Huhne backs new nuclear by 2018

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne backed an aggressively timetabled nuclear building programme yesterday for the first time.

Although mention of nuclear power is conspicuously absent from DECC’s draft structural reform plan - a set of deadlines for the roll out of everything from smart meters to CCS trials – in a press conference held immediately after his statement to Parliament, Huhne said new nuclear would be “on track by 2018”.

The acknowledgement is a considerable departure from the Liberal Democrat’s traditional opposition to new nuclear power stations, although in previous statements Huhne has said nuclear must be part of the UK's energy mix.

Both Huhne and Conservative energy minister Charles Hendry repeated the assertion that no public money is available for new nuclear build.

However, public money will have to be spent on decommissioning existing plant, said the ministers.

French electricity utility EDF is one of a number of companies seeking to build new nuclear plants in the UK. The company’s proposed timetable of bringing the first of these online by 2018 is considered ambitious by energy analysts.