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A new nuclear programme would take at least ten years to generate its first watt –
five years’ planning and getting clearance, five years’ building. Critics say that the
timescale would be longer.
Any new plant would be built on one of the existing nuclear sites, which have the
necessary infrastructure and enjoy local support. The old arguments about British
versus overseas designs are dead, partly because indigenous innovation has withered
in the long hiatus between orders and partly because the industry is now an
international one.
Whatever design were to be chosen, the technology would be proven rather than new,
costs lower and designs simpler and safer. No subsidies would be needed, insisted
Vincent de Rivas, the chief executive of EDF Energy, which owns British power
stations and distribution networks including London Electricity and Seeboard.
“That’s an old-fashioned view,” he told MPs on the Environmental Audit Committee
of the House of Commons this month. “What [the] nuclear [industry] requires from
Government is a clear policy in terms of licensing, in terms of planning, in terms of
putting in place a safety authority, a clear vision and a Government which delivers.
“For the rest, building and operating nuclear [facilities] with the technologies that are
available at the moment is competitive and does not require special subsidies. It will
deliver. There will be investors to invest, there will be customers to buy the energy
produced.”
The 2003 White Paper laid a lot of emphasis on renewable sources and energy
efficiency. Renewables are expected to generate a fifth of electricity by 2020, with
most of it coming from the wind.
