So Britain is to go nuclear again - what do we all think?

[Callisto]

Personally I think that it is too late - at the soonest the new reactors won't go online until 2020. I also think that it will be a drop in the ocean compared to our actual energy needs and takes the emphasis away from properly green, sustainable power. We need to do something, I just think this will be a monumental waste of money.

Its very difficult.

I am as green as I can be, but find the nuclear question surprisingly hard.

Renewables won't sustain us in the short to medium term as the technology isnt efficient enough.
Going back to coal or oil is a disaster for global warning (and is the last resort imo)
Nuclear has massive problems with waste and risk of a huge accident if it goes wrong.

Ideally we should be going for renewables, but I really cant see how they will provide enough power to replace coal-fired power stations. not until the technology is better. So what to do in the meantime?

So that leaves nuclear...

I agree Callisto. IMO this is a very backward looking policy. The way forward is renewables. All new buildings - private and public should be built with grey water systems, solar powered rooves etc. I am sure people would be more open to having new housing estates with solar tiles than having a nuclear power station down the road.

I also remember reading somewhere - but can't quite remember where (Economist?) that there will soo be a problem with uranium - apparently we are running out of the right type for nuclear power...

I'm the same - it is a conundrum. I just think that if the govt plus private industry put this much effort into making green power viable we might actually be getting somewhere in 10 years time.

As long as the security is top notch, I'm actually not as bothered as I thought I'd be. I must be getting old.

The problem is we're so reliant on centralized power systems, and anything that replaces the current fuel source has to be big enough to accomodate those requirements.

I'm all for more localized power-sources, but I don't think it's viable without more local community involvement.

There was a small article in the Telegraph recently about the possiblity of turning cow manure into energy which could potentially power the houses in that community. A brilliant idea, I thought, but nothing ever seems to come of these things.

And here is the article: www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/01/06/nroyal306.xml

claricebeansmum - I agree. I live right near a new estate, and the new houses are only a little bit more energy efficient (according to the HIP they are a 'c') than mine built nearly 40 yrs ago (and mine isn't that good - a 'd').
Why not build so that they have large windows to the south and small ones to the north, solar heated water-heating, small wind turbines etc? and make them an 'a' rated efficiency?

If new homes were fairly self sufficient for energy then this would remove pressure from the national grid...

Nuclear is the best option at the moment until more research is done to make renewables such as wind & solar power produce energy on a larger scale. Though I agree with Callisto, it could be too late.
Oil/gas & coal reserves won't last forever, and what some people don't realise is that these resources are just used to fuel our cars and power and heat our homes, they are also the crude materials used to make all carbon based products such as pharmaceuticals, plastics, etc.
We need to look at how we are using the resources we have - what energy/material is wasted, and more recycling of waste products, and have a real energy efficiency drive. It would take a massive culture change in today's consumerist society though.

BT and BH,

I read just recently that in Sillicone Valley they are developing a new form of solar panel which is as thin as paper and will be run off constantly like a newspaper press.

They are estimating a build time of a few years rather than the usual 10 for a trad power station.

I will hunt down the article

super solar panels!

Well, you guys are gonna love this

clean coal technology plant in Kent

I know I live in Kent, move with the times you t*ers!

I think their claims that taxpayers wont be subsidising this is pants and we will because when oil/gas runs down, the nuclear industry will whomp up its prices.
And who is gonna pay for security and clean up and nuclear storage? that'll be the taxpayer again.
We need to cut consumption ffs. All of us use a ridiculous amount of energy.

Norty - that article on the solar panels was very interesting, that's exactly the thought of thing I'm talking about.
Eluesis - so the NIMBYs object to the dirty coal power station being replaced with a cleaner one?
NMC - we'll be paying for it one way or another. After all we are using it. Totally agree that we need to reduce consumption, but you find that the people who complain most vehemently against tax subsidies and rising costs are the least willing to change.

If we had spent as much money on alternative energy sources as we had on nuclear, we would have more options available. The truth is the nuclear lobby have a huge influence on governments. Look, Germany are doing it [phasing out nuclear power and increasing other renewables] why the hell can't anyone else? If everyone had solar panels on their rooves we could start making communities energy self sufficient. Wind power faces such vehement opposition in this country from old farts [and Noel Edmonds] who are quite happy to have nuclear power stations polluting the Irish Sea miles away from them but no non polluting windmills anywhere near their peripheral vision. It is a joke.
Even the pro nuclear lobby have absolutely no idea where to actually store nuclear waste safely for the next few hundred years. It is like building a car and putting the exhaust into the interior. there isn't actully an answer to the problem of nuclear waste but hey, whatever.

There is Clean Coal Technology. And it does have some merit. Basically they will capture (some of) the emissions and inject them back into disused oil fields in the north sea (so I hear-- not sure if this is actually the agreed plan). And that a pretty good idea. But, it's not really THAT clean. Coal is cheaper than it used to be. This is about cost far more than the technology.

Absolutely it is.

Incidentally, I am for nuclear. It's the best we've got. And given how long they take to get up and running I think we best get a move on. We REALLY need to reduce our dependance on places like Russia, Iran, Venezuela as a matter of urgency. This is more about foreign policy than it is about the enviroment. But if it also helps the environment then that's great.

The irony is that Russia would be quite happy with a bit more global warming. It would help them extract oil from the North Pole. And it would give them fertile land which is now tundra. Win-win situation for them.

At the very least all new homes should be built with solar panels. Building companies are still spending loads on luxury kitchens and bathrooms but the idea of domestic solar energy still bypasses everyone's thoughts. Immoral.

Siberian tigers are practically extinct because of that tosser Putin's policies.