What does the coalition mean to nuclear......From The Guardian

What the coalition means for environmental policies

Will blue and yellow mix together to make a green government? Adam Vaughan examines the key policy areas that will need to be addressed by the newly formed Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition

• 
• 
• 
• Tweet this (29)
• Comments (6)

• 
• • Adam Vaughan
  • guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 12 May 2010 12.14 BST
  • Article history

Dungeness nuclear power station in Kent. The Conservatives are in favour of building new nuclear reactors, while the Liberal Democrats are against. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Nuclear power

This is a major point of disagreement between the two parties. TheConservatives are in favour of building new nuclear reactors, and theLiberal Democrats are against.

Simon Hughes, previously the Liberal Democrats' energy spokesman,has said: "A new generation of nuclear power stations will be a colossal mistake, regardless of where they are built. They are hugely expensive, dangerous and will take too long to build." The Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg reiterated a similar line in the leaders' debates.

The new foreign secretary, William Hague, has said today's document on the terms of the coalition deal will allow the Lib Dems to abstain on certain measures, including nuclear power, which could imply nuclear power will go ahead in the UK, with the Liberal Democrats standing aside on the issue.

Martyn Williams, Friends of the Earth's (FoE) senior parliamentary campaigner, said the high cost made a new fleet of nuclear power stations unlikely. "The Conservatives I've spoken to are clear no public money will go into nuclear, and have even discussed whether that promise should be set down in law. And because the Liberal Democrats will abstain on nuclear, the Conservatives will be a minority government on nuclear."

Lakis Athanasiou, a utilities analyst for Evolution Securities, said an inquiry into nuclear could be the likely outcome if the coalition proves to be weak - which could potentially "derail" the timetable for new nuclear reactors. "The investment decisions on new nuclear by companies do not need to be made until 2012 if we are to have a new nuclear plant before 2020. There will need to be political clarity before the big spends start," he said.

OUR VIEW

The Conservatives are only pro nuclear on the basis that no subsidies are paid to the industry.

That means grants to Sheffield Forgemasters as well as messing with the carbon price to give unfair advantages.

Go to Olkiluoto and see the problems they are having there!

No nuclear power plant has ever been built without subsidy