Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
decade. It is impossible to imagine renewables achieving not only this, but
also taking over nuclear's share in the same relatively short period.
So, in line with this logic, the UK government has taken a series of
decisions regarding its nuclear industry. In 2003 it rescued British Energy,
the UK nuclear operator, from bankruptcy. In 2006 it announced legisla-
tion to speed up certification of new nuclear designs and to streamline
the planning process for new reactors. In 2008 British Energy was sold to
Electricité de France, a company with the financial and technical means
that the UK company no longer had. In 2009 it announced its approval of
a series of sites for new reactors to be built.
But it still remains to be seen whether swifter licensing and planning
procedures will be sufficient incentive for new reactor construction. The
nuclear industry points to the public subsidies now going to developers of
renewable and clean-coal technologies, and asks for the same. Yet nuclear
lacks the public acceptance that makes it possible for politicians to stand
up and justify a public subsidy for it.
Reversal in Europe
For the same climate change and energy security reasons influencing the
UK, three other European countries - Germany, Sweden, Belgium - have
all, during 2009, reversed or delayed earlier decisions to phase out nuclear
power. Sweden reversed a decision, taken after a 1980 referendum, to
phase out the country's nuclear reactors. Belgium overturned a 2003 limi-
tation on the country's reactors to no more than forty years of operation,
and postponed the closure of three of its oldest reactors from 2015 to 2025.
In Germany the centre-right coalition has delayed the phase-out, decided
by the previous centre-left coalition, of the country's 21 reactors by 2021.
But none of these three countries has decided to build a new generation
of reactors. For its part, Spain is sticking to its 1983 moratorium on the
building of any new reactors. Only Italy, which in line with a 1987 referen-
dum decision has entirely halted nuclear power, is planning to start from
scratch again and build a new generation of nuclear plants with French help.
