Renewables sector raises nuclear fears

The government confirmed one of Whitehall's worst kept secrets today and finally gave the green light to a new generation of nuclear power stations.

Speaking to the Commons on the publication of the government's response to its recent consultation on nuclear power and its new energy bill, business secretary John Hutton told MPs that new nuclear power stations would help enhance UK energy security and cut carbon emissions.

"Set against the challenges of climate change and security of supply, the evidence in support of new nuclear power stations is compelling," he said. "We should positively embrace the opportunity of delivering this important part of our energy policy."

The government insisted private operators would foot the bill for building and decommissioning the next generation of nuclear power stations, and would also have to fund waste disposal from the new plants.

However, it said it would streamline planning regulations to make it easier for energy firms to gain permission for the new plants which, it expects, will be built on or near the sites of existing nuclear power stations.

Hutton is understood to have resisted calls from the nuclear industry for a guarantee on carbon prices that would ensure new nuclear power plants remain financially competitive when compared with fossil fuels. However, he reiterated the government's commitment to a long-term carbon price through the European emissions trading scheme and argued that analysis of future gas and carbon prices showed nuclear was "affordable and provides one of the cheapest electricity options available to reduce our carbon emissions".

Critics dismissed the government's argument that nuclear power was essential to the UK hitting its carbon emission reduction targets.

Greenpeace, which successfully challenged the government's previous consultation process in court, said its lawyers were assessing the government's plans following criticism of the latest consultation process.

Executive director John Sauven said the government's plans looked "like a dog's breakfast", arguing that it still had no solution to the problem of nuclear waste and that research had shown that even if it builds 10 new power stations it would deliver a cut in carbon emissions of just four per cent after 2025.

Lobbyists for the renewable energy industry also voiced concern that the focus on nuclear power could diminish investment in alternative energy technologies.

Philip Wolfe, chief executive of the Renewable Energy Association, said that given their limited ability to cut emissions, the government's nuclear plans were attracting a disproportionate amount of attention compared with other forms of renewable energy. "In terms of the UK's total energy use, nuclear is a side issue," he argued. "It generates 20 per cent of electricity and about seven per cent of energy and the government is just talking about replacing capacity to that level. Meanwhile, the EU target requires renewables to deliver 20 per cent of all energy by 2020."

He also voiced fears that the government could backtrack on its commitment not to subsidise the next generation of nuclear stations and could "tilt the playing field" away from other forms of low-carbon energy.

However, the government insisted that its new energy bill would enable a diverse low-carbon energy mix, incorporating provisions to accelerate deployment of renewables and build the UK's first carbon capture and storage plant.

In particular, it confirmed plans to increase financial support for offshore wind, tidal and wave energy projects through its Renewable Obligation subsidy scheme and streamline regulations governing the connection of offshore renewables projects to the onshore electricity grid.

The bill was welcomed by the CBI, which also underlined its backing for a new generation of nuclear power stations. "After much consultation, the Government has reached the right conclusion about nuclear's role in meeting the twin challenges of climate change and energy security," said CBI director-general Richard Lambert. "Nuclear is not the only answer - more renewables and clean coal will be also be needed. Today's energy bill provides the framework for a diverse energy mix."

But Wolfe insisted the energy bill's support for renewable energy failed to go far enough. "The proposals in the energy bill will not even get us close to meeting the EU target of 20 per cent of energy from renewables by 2020," he said. "There needs to be a far wider suite of policies."

Friends of the Earth director Tony Juniper agreed the bill was inadequate, arguing that the government's promise of a threefold increase in renewable electricity represented less than half of what is likely to be required to meet the UK’s share of the EU’s renewable energy target. "Strong measures are needed to reform Ofgem, support renewable energy generators and reward households, businesses and communities who invest in producing their own clean energy," he said. "And the development of cleaner coal technologies, which have suffered repeated delays, must also be radically sped up.”

The REA added that there was now an urgent need for the government to introduce a feed-in tariff to promote adoption of small-scale renewable energy technologies and support for renewable heat technologies, such as combined heat and power generators and solar water heating systems, which it claims are currently being ignored by government.