MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

New UK energy plan anticipates 40% nuclear power by 2025

Names of ten new sites for nuclear plants (nine in England one in Wales) were unveiled by Energy Secretary Ed Miliband

A huge expansion of nuclear power was signalled Monday by the British Government as it named 10 sites where new power stations could be built. The first is set to be operational by 2018 and, by 2025 nuclear electricity generation could amount to around 40% of new energy provision.

Nine of the new sites are in England, including three in Cumbria, with the 10th in Anglesey, North Wales.

Energy and Climate Secretary Ed Miliband also set out an “ambitious” new policy for the transition to clean-coal generation, as well as confirming targets for generating 30% of electricity by renewable sources by 2020. The announcements were coupled with moves aimed at speeding up planning decisions on new energy projects aimed at cutting decisions to one year.

Mr Miliband said significantly more generating capacity was needed in the long term to meet the UK's low-carbon energy challenge, partly because of the intermittency of wind generation. One third of future generating capacity must be given consent and built by 2025, said the minister, adding: “While there are already proposals to build more energy infrastructure, more is needed to bring about the shift to a low-carbon future.”

Mr Miliband said a series of policy statements published by the UK Government included a clear direction towards a “massive expansion” in renewables, a new nuclear programme based around 10 sites, as well as moves to introduce clean-coal technology.

The 10 sites are at Braystones, Sellafield and Kirksanton, all in Cumbria, Heysham in Lancashire, Hartlepool, Co Durham, Sizewell in Suffolk, Bradwell in Essex, Hinkley Point in Somerset, Oldbury in Gloucestershire and Wylfa in Anglesey. An 11th site was put forward, but Dungeness in Kent was not included because of concerns about coastal erosion. Three other sites were looked at, but they were found not to be suitable. These sites were at Druridge Bay in Northumberland, Kingsnorth in Kent and Owston Ferry in South Yorkshire.

Mr Miliband said: “The threat of climate change means we need to make a transition from a system that relies heavily on high-carbon fossil fuels to a radically different system that includes nuclear, renewable and clean-coal power. Change is also needed for energy security. In a world where our North Sea reserves are declining, a more diverse, low-carbon energy mix is a more secure energy mix, less vulnerable to fluctuations in the availability of any one fuel.”

Liberal Democrat energy and climate change spokesman Simon Hughes said: “A new generation of nuclear power stations will be a colossal mistake regardless of where they are built. New plants in the UK have never been built without massive cost to the taxpayer and a lethal legacy of toxic waste. Plans to sweep aside the remnants of local accountability in the planning system expose a Government ready to override all objections as to where new sites will be built.”