Climate change is the driving force behind desire for nuclear
People from the eastern end of Sussex and western Kent may well be breathing a sigh of relief after the announcement that the ten sites earmarked for the new generation of nuclear power stations will not now include Dungeness.
Assuming this plan is not subsequently changed it will mean the current station will be decommissioned sometime between now and 2023 and not replaced.
It was the only one of the sites still under consideration to be rejected because of fears over further potential damage to the fragile ecosystem that exists at Dungeness and possible flooding fears.
Unsurprisingly, eight of the new sites already house existing or recently decommissioned nuclear power stations and all are located on the coast.
Two completely new sites will be developed on the Cumbrian coast while the nearest to these shores will be in Essex at Bradwell and Sizewell.
Having identified these sites, the race is now on to get them operational in synchronicity with the closure of what will be by then some fairly elderly stations.
If there is an appreciable gap between the availability of nuclear power from the old and new power stations the slack will almost certainly have to be made up from fossil fuel power stations, which could have an impact on the UK's carbon emissions and damage its climate change strategy.
Ultimately, climate change is the driving force behind the desire for a new generation of nuclear power stations.
The position of the Government even as little as 10 years ago was that nuclear power stations were unpopular and unlikely to be replaced.
However, the threat of the nuclear energy gap being replaced by fossil fuels appears to be too great a risk politically, hence the reason for the change of heart.
Interestingly, the opposition to nuclear power seems to be more muted than it once might have been, although it will be interesting to see whether the stated intention to fast track the planning system will become reality.
I suspect local opposition may well slow the process beyond the stated time frame of 2025.
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Weather for Worthing
Tuesday 14 February 2012
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