New UK nuclear plant sites named

23 June 2011 Last updated at 13:34 GMT The Sellafield nuclear plant handles nuclear material and is part of a generation of older sites Ministers have announced plans for the next generation of UK nuclear plants.

The government confirmed a list of eight sites it deems suitable for new power stations by 2025, all of which are adjacent to existing nuclear sites.

The sites are: Bradwell, Essex; Hartlepool; Heysham, Lancashire; Hinkley Point, Somerset; Oldbury, Gloucestershire; Sellafield, Cumbria; Sizewell, Suffolk; and Wylfa, Anglesey.

The announcement comes three months after the Fukushima disaster in Japan.

The future of nuclear as a power source for countries around the world was called into question after the disaster which occurred in March when a Japanese earthquake and tsunami rocked the reactors at Fukushima, leaving radioactivity leaking from the plant.

The proposals for new UK nuclear power plants are part of a series of national policy statements on energy which have been published following a public consultation.

'Affordable energy'

The plans will be debated and voted on in Parliament, but ministers are hopeful that, with a pro-nuclear majority in the Commons, they will win the argument.

Energy Minister Charles Hendry said: "Around a quarter of the UK's generating capacity is due to close by the end of this decade. We need to replace this with secure, low carbon, affordable energy.

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We believe the nuclear programme is not safe - and Fukushima is the latest example of that - but it's also not needed”

End Quote Andreas Speck Kick Nuclear - Stop New Nuclear alliance "This will require over ?100bn worth of investment in electricity generation alone. This means twice as much investment in energy infrastructure in this decade as was achieved in the last decade."

Mr Hendry said industry "needs as much certainty as possible to make such big investments," adding that the plans "set out our energy need to help guide the planning process, so that if acceptable proposals come forward in appropriate places, they will not face unnecessary hold-ups".

Hinkley blockade

Andreas Speck from Stop New Nuclear - an alliance of eight groups opposed to the plants - said campaigners had expected the government to go ahead with its plans despite Fukushima.

"It was always clear," he said.

But Mr Speck said Stop New Nuclear would continue to oppose the plants "more than ever" and would blockade the Hinkley Point site on 3 October.

EDF Energy has already submitted planning applications to the West Somerset District Council for preparatory work on the planned new reactor at the site.

If EDF could be made to abandon its plans at Hinkley, the alliance hoped work at the other proposed sites would also be stopped, Mr Speck said.

"We believe the nuclear programme is not safe - and Fukushima is the latest example of that - but it's also not needed," he said.

Mr Speck said power could be generated without the use of nuclear energy, which he said was expensive and provided too few carbon reductions.

Divisive issue

The issue of nuclear power divided Conservatives and Liberal Democrats when they entered government together.

The coalition deal allowed a Lib Dem spokesman to speak out against any new nuclear plants, while Lib Dem MPs could abstain on the issue.

However, Lib Dem Energy Secretary Chris Huhne has since given his backing to new reactors.

He stressed that they would not be subsidised by the taxpayer, although MPs have warned that reform of the electricity market could favour nuclear power and amount to a hidden subsidy.

The new reactors are designed to maintain electricity supplies and cut greenhouse gas emissions.

It will come as an older generation of power stations is shut down.

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MPs' hidden nuclear subsidy claim

16 May 2011 Last updated at 14:04 GMT It's at the centre of coalition energy policy - we will only give the go-ahead to new nuclear power stations if they can be built without public subsidy.

But for some time there have been grave doubts that a new generation of power stations will be built purely through market forces.

A new nuclear power station could be built at Sellafield

And now MPs have accused ministers of disguising subsidies to get round the problem.

In its report, the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee says ministers are at risk of warping the market and disadvantaging competing technologies.

The problem is that any firm building a nuclear power station has huge upfront costs to develop the technology and put safety measures in place.

For that reason, investors want some degree of certainty about the return they'll get.

According to the report, the Government is planning to do that by providing long-term contracts and guaranteed prices.

Deeply irresponsible

The Government can speak for its own policy, but I would certainly support subsidy for new nuclear generation in this country.”

End Quote Jamie Reed MP Shadow Environment Minister

The Committee argues that's a subsidy in all but name, and has said that ministers should be upfront about it.

The MPs also say they should offer a level playing field to wind farm and solar power developers.

Tim Yeo, who chairs the committee, said: "Ministers believe that new nuclear could play a key role in keeping the lights on and meeting our climate change targets - but they don't want to own up to supporting it.

"This is understandable given the promise they made not to subsidise nuclear, but it would be deeply irresponsible to skew the whole process of electricity market reform simply to save face."

He also warns that the system being set up is so complex it may not deliver the investment in new energy sources we desperately need.

The report has been seized upon by environmentalists who say it is proof that the Government is giving nuclear power an unfair advantage, and that its promise not to subsidise it is completely bogus.

That's a charge the Government denies.

Labour MP Jamie Reed favours subsidising nuclear power.

Subsidy essential

But one Labour MP and shadow minister has told the Politics Show that new nuclear power stations will not be built without public subsidy.

Jamie Reed represents Copeland in Cumbria. It's a constituency which includes Sellafield, and that's where he worked before entering parliament.

The MP and shadow environment minister says he has always believed that public subsidy should be used to develop nuclear power stations and other forms of energy generation.

He wants to see three nuclear power plants built in his constituency alone, and believes subsidy will be needed to attract investors.

He says: "I have always been consistent in believing that any form of energy production will need subsidy.

"The Government can speak for its own policy, but I would certainly support subsidy for new nuclear generation in this country."

But all of this is a problem for the coalition.

While the Conservatives are keen on nuclear power, the Lib Dems and their Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne are not.

Many Lib Dems will be unhappy with any change of policy that would allow public money to go towards developing new power stations.

The select committee though is concerned that the muddle over whether to subsidise or not could prevent vital investment in our power supply.

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