Darling warns of power cuts if we say 'no to nuclear'
Alistair Darling, the new Trade and Industry secretary, has warned
of power cuts if Britain does not go ahead with a new generation
of nuclear power stations.
He said that nuclear must be a part of a mix of renewable sources of
energy and measures to cut consumption.
He also said that electricity generation projects must be "fast tracked"
through the planning process before power cuts start. "We run a
serious risk that some day someone will go into a living room,
flick the switch, and nothing will happen, because we do not have
the capability to generate any energy from any source at all."
"We know that it [nuclear power] is expensive, but to have an energy review
that says we are not going to do it, especially given the carbon
problem we face, does not make any sense at all..... no-one is
talking about a French-style nuclear provision, where they are up
at 80 per cent, but given where we are at the moment, with our
increasing dependency on gas imports, we need to look at all options".
30 Jun 06
