Greenpeace and renewable energy provider Ecotricity have today begun legal action to stop the Government's £50 million bailout of the failed private nuclear generator British Energy and get the money repaid to the British taxpayer.
The European Commission has confirmed that the loan was made without its approval, which, Greenpeace and Ecotricity say is a clear breach by the UK Government of the law governing state aid. In the last few days the Belgian Government has made a formal complaint to EC about the bailout. Several power companies are also reported to have complained to the Commission.
Ecotricity and Greenpeace have asked the High Court for a judicial review of the decision by Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to provide state aid to the cash strapped nuclear company without EC approval. On 26th September the DTI announced it had extended British Energy's loan term and increased the aid package from £10 million to £50 million
Greenpeace nuclear campaigner, Rick Le Coyte said,
"We are going to court to get this handout paid back to the public purse. It's a senseless waste of taxpayers money and is damaging truly clean energy providers. People have been conned by the nuclear industry for too long. Both of Britain's nuclear operators are having to be rescued from financial meltdown with millions of pounds of taxpayers money - for dangerous and expensive energy we don't need.
"It's time for the Government to stop doling out taxpayers money to a company that pollutes our country and threatens public safety and sensibly invest it in the increasingly profitable renewable sector."
Dale Vince, Managing Director of Ecotricity said,
"This loan will only keep British Energy afloat for two months. For the same money we could build enough onshore wind energy to power 15% of the country. But we don't need government money to do this - onshore wind energy is ready now to deliver clean renewable energy with no subsidies. All we need is the Government to have the courage to tackle the problems in the planning system - that's our only obstacle."
A recent MORI poll showed that 72 per cent of respondents favoured renewable energy over nuclear generation [1]. Energy consultants AEA Technology demonstrated in a report in July that offshore wind farms off the coast of East Anglia would generate the same amount of power as the entire UK's nuclear sector [2]. Britain has wind reserves that could generate three times the nation's current electricity needs.
