Britain Reaffirms Nuclear Commitment

World Nuclear News

The UK government remains absolutely committed to new nuclear power. Without it. the nation would be "darker and less prosperous," said the energy minister today.

Charles Hendry was speaking at the New Nuclear Build 2011 conference in London, taking the stage after the heads of the three companies that want to build new power reactors.

"We need to maintain public confidence," said Hendry, noting the basis to achieve this was a response "based on fact and scientific evidence—and the existence of a strong independent regulator."

"My view is that nuclear is vital for the energy sector today," said Hendry, "and can be just as vital many years in the future. And that's why we don't want to see one nuclear power plant built, but we want to see a fleet. But for that to happen, we need certainty and clarity for industry and investors."

It is still the UK's goal to be the world's most attractive market for investment in nuclear and other low-carbon sources of power. Measures to achieve that include a floor price on carbon dioxide emissions and other electricity market reforms included in a white paper due before 19 July.