UK needs more nuclear plant builders, minister says
LONDON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Britain needs more than one company to build nuclear power stations to meet the government's long-term carbon emissions targets and provide affordable electricity, UK energy minister Mike O'Brien said on Monday.
Speaking at a conference on nuclear energy in London, O'Brien welcomed the plan by France's EDF (EDF.PA) to build four nuclear power stations in Britain by 2025 but said more were required to replace Britain' ageing state-built reactors, all but one of which will close over the next 17 years.
"Nuclear must be an important part of an affordable climate change policy for the UK. Not having nuclear in the mix could threaten our economy, our climate and indeed our very way of life," O'Brien said at the conference organised by Chatham House, the home of the Royal Institute of International Affairs.
"We want other types of nuclear power stations in Britain too. We need other companies to come forward. We do need to replace the energy we now get from nuclear with new nuclear," he said.
Although other European utilities with nuclear power plant experience have said they would be interested in building reactors in Britain, only EDF has taken concrete steps, by bidding to take over British Energy BGY.L earlier this year.
O'Brien, in charge of energy policy at the newly-created Department of Energy and Climate Change, said electricity prices would rise significantly if nuclear were to be excluded from the UK's strategy for cutting carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050.
"Nuclear is a crucial part of an affordable climate change policy. Without it, achieving the stringent target we have set ourselves for the future would undoubtedly be more costly, potentially increasing the cost of electricity by up to 40 percent compared to now," he said.
The latest government modelling of likely new build in Britain showed that the UK was on track to get about 15 percent of its energy from nuclear in 2025, about the same share as now.
O'Brien said the Scottish National Party's opposition to building more reactors, instead relying on renewable energy and coal fired power plants that use untested carbon capture and storage, was risky. (Reporting by Daniel Fineren, editing by Anthony Barker)
