UPDATE (08/02/2013) – Caroline Lucas, writing in the Guardian makes the case for the UK not needing nuclear to meet reduced CO2 emissions and keep the lights on.
George Monbiot seems to think it is. In his latest article he points to:
- Cumbria rejecting plans to create a nuclear dump site to hold radioactive waste
- Centrica announcing it does not intend to bid for new nuclear plant contracts
He then points to Germany and Japan where the scrapping of existing and new plant is expected to result in many millions of tonnes of additional greenhouse gases being released new coal and gas power stations.
In the UK the second dash-for-gas seems to be well under way, although where all this gas will come from is anyone’s guess – fracking certainly isn’t the answer. Rewnewables of all types are now subject to slashed incentives, vague planning policy and NIMBY backbenchers.
So will we see a return to dirty coal fired electricity generation here in the UK as well?