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Greenpeace believes that given the environmental imperatives now facing all countries the stage is set for explosive growth in the market for solar electric power. Why is it still not happening?

Solar energy is a promise for the future. It is a clean and sustainable source of energy that can provide a significant share of our energy needs. It is not only from an environmental point of view that solar energy has a future: from an economic perspective prospects abound. Large multinationals such as Shell, BP and Siemens are focusing their efforts in the field of sustainable energy, most particularly on photovoltaic solar energy.

Residential, commercial and public sector electricity demand is responsible for about half of global electricity consumption. Solar energy can be a powerhouse behind our commercial and residential buildings even in colder climates. The integration of photovoltaics (PV) cells, which convert sunlight into electricity, into roofs and facades could turn buildings from net users of energy into net generators. Switching from fossil fuels to solar will make a major contribution in preventing dangerous levels of climate change.

Different perspectives

Publication date: February 2000

Summary
A summary of statements from the BNFL Environment, Health & Safety Report 1998/99, "Responsible for safety and care for the environment", and the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) Investigation of Sellafield (6-27 September 1999), published February 2000.

The events of BNFL's falsified safety data for nuclear fuel. (Compiled by Green Action, Japan.)

Accidents and events list compiled by CORE (Cumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive Environment) from a range of sources. Bracketed figures refer to Sellafield Newsletter edition in which accident is reported, single figure to level on INES. Complete list from 1950.

1950 - 1996

The following accidents and incidents resulting in worker contamination or over-exposure in Sellafield's reprocessing plants have been reported since 1950.

The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate's (NII) team inspection of Sellafield came as a result of an apparent increase in the number of safety incidents at the site in the first few months of 1999, as well as issues raised by routine NII inspections 2 . The inspection's findings have led to the NII threatening to force BNFL to close down operations at the controversial nuclear site if safety standards are not improved within two months.

The Advisory Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (ACSNI) recommended in 1992 that Highly Active Liquid (HAL) waste should be vitrified (incorporated into glass blocks) as soon as reasonably practicable. BNFL told NII in 1995 that it aimed to reduce HAL stocks to a buffer volume by about 2015...