New nuclear power stations a colossal mistake - Popham (Bristol East Liberal Democrats)

Bristol East Liberal Democrats <info@bristoleastlibdems.org.uk>

New nuclear power stations a colossal mistake - Popham

April 18, 2009 2:18 PM

Severn Barrage Commenting on the publication of a list of 11 possible sites for new nuclear power stations, Liberal Democrat Prospective Member of Parliament for Bristol East said: "This intended new generation of nuclear power stations will be an enormous mistake regardless of where they are built. They are hugely expensive, dangerous and will take too long to build. There is a real danger that the Government is becoming too close to the big energy companies. The best answer to Britain's needs is a massive expansion of renewable energy. If billions of pounds are wasted on new nuclear sites the money simply won't be available to do this."

The Government is currently carrying out a Severn Tidal Power Feasibility Study. The Minister Ed Miliband, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change has:

Launched a three-month consultation on a short list of five possible Severn tidal power schemes and the scope of the Severn tidal Strategic Environmental Assessment.
Announced an additional £0.5m Government financial support to speed the development of proposals (like the tidal reef and tidal fence), which are highly innovative.
Committed to considering progress of the new technologies (tidal reef and tidal fence) alongside those short listed before taking decisions on whether or not to support the building of a Severn tidal

The consultation closes on 23rd April. Below is the executive summary of the consultation document:

This particular consultation raises some interesting issues for the local community:

Potential importance of this as an energy project for security of supply
Job creation on both sides of the estuary
Importance of exploring new technologies to identify a wider range of options
Potential negative impacts on the Port of Bristol and the Deep Sea Container Terminal

The photo is of the 240MW La Rance experimental tidal power plant in Brittany.

The Liberal Democrats will be formulating our own response to this consultation shortly, so please do let us know of any key issues you would like us to raise in addition to those listed above.