UK Government’s Unfaltering Nuclear Support

It was reported in the guardian on the 30^th of June that the UK government exchanged correspondence with the Nuclear Industry shortly after the Fukushima incident in an attempt to reduce the potential negative outcome. This information was made available under the Freedom of Information Act and highlights the strong ties the government have with the Nuclear Industry. If we take a look at this objectively it’s no big surprise that the nuclear industry and the government department responsible for nuclear energy would be in contact with each other immediately after the incident, as they would naturally want to protect their investments.

However do these emails suggest just that or does it point to the idea that the UK government has decided blindly on nuclear energy as a complete solution to fuel the future, a view taken by many anti-nuclear groups.

The decision was made by the last government to opt for nuclear power as a solution to climate change a decision based on a mixture of cost, availability and probably the influence of certain major stakeholders. Since then a large amount of investment has been used for the Generic Design Assessment of third generation nuclear plants by both the government and stakeholders and in this economic climate both parties do not want to lose out on their investment. The worry is that renewables in the UK remain largely underfunded and that with that the opportunity for the UK to become a world leader in renewable technology is slowly slipping away.

Unfortunately the view of many pro and anti nuclear activists is that there must be only one sole solution to future energy production, a view that is simply not sustainable. If we were to pick nuclear as a sole solution we would run out of Uranium and suffer from an inflexible power source which produces large quantities of toxic and nuclear waste. If we were to pick renewable as a sole solution then we cannot cope with the fluctuations in power with the current grid system and there is little infrastructure available. The energy mix needs to be considered with investment in nuclear in the short-term and significant investment in renewables in the short to long-term if the UK has any chance of reaching its emissions targets for 2020 and 2050.

Obviously the Fukushima incident was going to have an effect on the global nuclear industry and its frail public support in the UK was inevitably going be a worry for the UK government, but the question has to be asked whether these emails show an unfounded loyalty for a sole nuclear solution.