UK Politics

No Need for Nukes?

What are your views on nuclear energy?

I’m broadly for it: but I worry about the expense.

Peter Tatchell isn’t:

Echoing Margaret Thatcher, Gordon Brown insists “there is no alternative” to nuclear power in order to meet the UK’s future energy needs. The announcement that the government is giving the go-ahead to a new generation of nuclear plants is based on this premise. Ministers warn that renewable sources of energy are not able to provide enough electricity to meet our needs.

This is nonsense. There is plenty of renewable capacity, including renewable sources that can provide constant supply and be timed to meet peaks of demand.

I have to say, I do rather like those majestic wind turbines you see dotted around the countryside. And I also like the idea of getting something for nothing.

But is Peter right? Could we do without nuclear energy?