Conservatives demand National Policy Statement on nuclear power

Speaking to BSD, shadow Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) minister Greg Barker has come out in support of the CBI and said the publication of a policy statement is needed as soon as possible.

His comments follow a recent report by the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI). In it’s report Forging a Nuclear Renaissance: Making new nuclear a reality ,the lobby group claims existing policy is “subsidising investments in renewable energy at the expense of other more cost effective low-carbon solutions,” including nuclear. The report demanded a policy statement from government on nuclear power.

Barker said Britain should have a “broad-based supply of low carbon energy” to ensure it isn’t over-dependent on one energy source and to reduce carbon emissions. He also said that under a Conservative government, nuclear power would “be part of the energy mix if it is economically viable”

Matthew Farrow, CBI’s head of energy, transport and planning, said: “We need the nuclear National Policy Statement to be published as soon as possible. It must set out the scale of nuclear investment needed to meet carbon targets – probably about eight to 10 new plants by 2030. We also need a streamlined planning system to assess individual nuclear planning applications and to resolve the question of whether a new market mechanism, such as capacity payments or a carbon price floor, is needed to enable nuclear new build. This is not about a subsidy, it is about making the returns on nuclear investment more predictable.”

To read Greg Barker’s comments in full, read the December issue of BSD.To sign up for your free copy of BSD click here.