Nuclear companies pull out of Oldbury

Russ cartoon

Well I had a few days away in Cornwall last week - very nice they were too - even got to enjoy a genuine pasty - although I wont be bragging about that too loudly...

Well one item in the news while I was away was that npower and Horizon pulled out of plans to build a new nuclear plant at Oldbury - see article in Huffington Post here. I can't say I'm disappointed - nuclear just does not stack up on so many grounds - the government will have to rethink it's energy policy - something many of us have been saying for a long time. Although there is a small outside chance that Japan's Toshiba steps in to build Wylfa and Oldbury - see here - but can we wait any longer when serious investment in energy efficiency and renewables are just waiting to happen....

"The Government's energy strategy is crumbling. Not even the billions of pounds of taxpayers' money they have offered as incentives to the German and French nuclear industry are enough to make a new generation of power stations economically viable." Greenpeace's policy director Doug Parr

Sent by email to me - thanks to whoever created it

See also article on why Germany is phasing out nuclear at: http://grist.org/renewable-energy/why-germany-is-phasing-out-nuclear-power/ Meanwhile in the same week Bulgaria have cancelled their plans for a plant at Belene - an area well known for it's seismic activity see Banktrack's press release here. Also last week four former directors of Friends of the Earth are continuing their campaign to convince the UK government to abandon plans for new nuclear power. The four — Tom Burke, Tony Juniper, Jonathon Porritt and Charles Secrett – issued the first of six planned briefings - see here.

Lastly a friend sent me this quote from Lib Dem Trade and Industry spokesman in 2006 Mr Davey: ‘in addition to posing safety and environmental risks, nuclear power will only be possible with vast taxpayer subsidies or a rigged market. ‘It is an issue that crops up in my postbag time and again. People don’t want nuclear, but they don’t know what the alternatives are. Now they do, and the alternatives are cleaner, safer, greener and better for the environment and the taxpayer.’” In the light of this his support for nuclear now is all the more disappointing...