Eight Nuclear Power Stations for the UK

Eight nuclear power stations are to be built across England.

The plants, to be constructed over the next decade, will mainly be alongside existing facilities. New planning laws will be used to speed up approval for the plants, which are crucial in reducing Britain's dependence on fossil fuels.

Earlier this year, the Government said that it was committed to building a new generation of nuclear power stations to replace those which are being phased out.

The locations of the new reactors are expected to include Sizewell, Hartlepool, Heysham and Dungeness. There are currently eight nuclear sites across England, so planning permissions should not be a problem.

The Scottish Executive has blocked any of the new nuclear stations being built north of the border. (........So Scotland should be excluded from any benefits which the new stations provide, presumably - and be first in line for power cuts when they occur - Ed.)

At last week's G8 summit in Japan, the Prime Minister spoke of the need for up to 1,000 new nuclear power stations around the world to supply energy during the next century. He said there should be nuclear plants on every continent.

Energy prices have soared recently, in line with the rise in the price of oil.

Britain has pledged to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 50% by 2050 and the eight-station programme is necessary to achieve this. It might also enable us to slow down the rate at which we are using up fossil fuel reserves.

ND, habitat21 website

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