Now here's a surprise: the government was being 'economic' with the truth when it promised that we, the taxpayers, wouldn't have to foot the extortionate bill for new nuclear power.
It turns out that we, the consumers, will be picking up our fair share.
Yep, the day after the papers reported a 15 per cent energy price hike, we're being told to brace ourselves for more hikes if the government succeeds in dragging us down the nuclear road.
Leading experts side with Greenpeace; process now "vulnerable to legal challenge"
A new report from a coalition of top nuclear industry experts has accused the UK Government of failing the British public by conducting a second flawed consultation into the future of nuclear power in this country.
We've been banging on about the sham nuclear 'consultation' for ages now, but today 17 scientists, academics and nuclear industry insiders piled into the debate, giving Gordon Brown a drubbing over well, pretty much everything to do with nuclear power.
I wanted to share a few highlights from their report but the arguments are so compelling I just couldn't stop cutting and pasting. So here, have more quotes about nuclear power than you can shake a stick at, or read the full report for yourself at www.nuclearconsult.com:
"An accumulating public sense of a lack of independence and a lack of transparency behind government initiatives in this area, and a hidden industry agenda belittling the problems seem to emit a strong whiff of mortgaging the long-term future to short-term interests. The issue is one of trust in government..."
Dr Paul Dorfman, University of Warwick
Prof Brian Wynne, University of Lancaster
The government was today issued with a fresh legal threat from Greenpeace over a
new fleet of nuclear power stations.
Greenpeace
lawyers have contacted the government, saying "it would not be lawful" for the government to make a decision in favour of building new nuclear power stations.
Posted by jamie — 10 December 2007 at 3:59pm
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When you make a mistake, you tend to learn from the experience so you can avoid making similar blunders in the future. Not so the current government which, if it backs a new generation of nuclear power stations, could once again find itself at odds with the law.
Back in February, we took the government to the High Court over its first attempt to hold a public consultation on the future of nuclear power. The court found in our favour, ruling that the consultation was "unlawful" and "seriously flawed". It forced ministers back to the drawing board for a second consultation but once again it's been shaped and guided by a predetermined outcome: the UK will have new nuclear power stations. Members of the public who attended the consultation meetings posted messages on this site about how they felt attendees were lead into finding in favour of nuclear power.
The UK government and nuclear industry claim that a new generation of nuclear power stations can be built without any public subsidy. They point to Finland, where the first new reactor ordered in Europe since 1993 is being built, and to the US as proof of a re-emerging industry.
Posted by jamie — 29 November 2007 at 6:54pm
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Ever since
the government started ranting about the joy of new nuclear power stations, a central
plank of their shaky argument has been that the billions required will be
covered by industry and not the taxpayer. But despite these bold claims,
legislation and loopholes have been carefully engineered so that public money
will inevitably subsidise the industry. Hardly surprising, given there hasn't
been a single civil nuclear project that hasn't required huge sums of public dosh.
Reacting to Gordon Brown's speech to the CBI this
morning, Greenpeace executive director John
Sauven said:
"The prime minister last week outlined plans to generate
twenty per cent of our energy from renewable sources, now just one week later we
are back to the old mantra of nuclear power. Declarations like this threaten to
strangle the renewables industry before it can even get close to that 2020
target."