Date published: 2007/05/20
The BBC says:
Nuclear power should be "part of the mix" of Britain's energy supplies in the future, Alistair Darling has said.
An energy White Paper will be published on Wednesday - Tony Blair has already said he supports replacing Britain's ageing nuclear power stations.
The Observer newspaper reported that his successor Gordon Brown will also support the plans this week.
Trade and Industry Secretary Mr Darling told the BBC that renewable energy sources alone would not be sufficient.
He told BBC One's The Politics Show that it was not sensible to rule out nuclear power which could help to fight climate change and to make sure Britain does not become dependent on imported gas and oil.
But asked whether reports that up to eight new power stations would be built in the next 15 years were true, he said: "I don't have a firm number in my mind as to the actual proportion or the number of power stations.
"What I do know is that you do need a mix.
"The trouble with renewables is they're very good in providing you with low carbon electricity generation, but of course on very hot days or very cold days, if the wind doesn't blow, then you would have a big problem.
"That's where nuclear has provided a base load of electricity for many years now."
...
But the Green Party has condemned the plans as "astronomically expensive" and "dirty and dangerous" while Greenpeace say it is misguided.Greenpeace's Stephen Tindale has accused Mr Blair of being "fixated" with nuclear power, adding: "Anything substantial in this review that supports clean green energy will be fatally undermined as long as Blair remains prime minister."
Of course the so-called environmentalists are "fixated" on not using nuclear power, but presumably their academic middle class fixation is somehow better than Mr Blair's alleged fixation. (And presumably Tindale's soundbite digest will soon be edited to replace "Blair" with "Brown", since even he will have noticed that Blair will not be prime minister in a few weeks.)
And the BBC fails to mention that it is not just Mr Blair and Mr Brown who will decide whether or not there is a future for nuclear power in the UK. The Lib Dems are opposed to nuclear power and it seems likely that the Tories are heading down the same path (given that Cameron is best buddies with that other spoiled rich kid, Zac Goldsmith). So the odds are high that nuclear (fission) power is dead (or soon will be dead) in the UK, no matter what the current government says.
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