More nuclear problems

Tim Montgomery at ConservativeHome thinks "support for nuclear power" should be a core Tory value. I think, if picking a technological winner like that is a core Tory value, that contempt for Tories should be one of my core values. I am quite prepared to see a new round of new nuclear power stations built if suitable guarantees of safety can be obtained and if they are the most economic option, including fairly-valued externalities, but without provision of subsidy, underwriting of cost, railroading of local opinion, or watering-down of competition. Are the Tories (and the Government) prepared also to recognise that our electricity system is no longer run by the CEGB, and that the only way that they can deliver nuclear, if removing obstacles and internalising externalities are not sufficient, is to subsidise it?

More news has come out today about recent nuclear problems, on which we have been reporting in the absence of press coverage. The Times has now picked up on the significance of the damage to the nuclear reactor at Kashiwazaki in Japan. They report that it is now being admitted, contrary to earlier claims that any escapes were minor and brief, that radioactive particles were being released into the air for three days following the earthquake.

Meanwhile, our own ageing reactors are suffering similar difficulties to those in Germany. British Energy announced today that they were having trouble bringing back on-line their Hinkley Point and Hunterston reactors, which had been closed after the discovery of cracks. BE's shares fell by more than 1% on the news.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. The Government should set a clear date for closing and decommissioning the majority of our nuclear fleet, which is suffering increasing downtime as it shows its age. A clear date would allow our electricity-generators to plan ahead and invest in new generating capacity with more confidence. And it would reduce the risk of trying to squeeze just one more waffer-thin unit out of nuclear plant that is falling apart at the seams. Given the Government's shareholding in and financial support for British Energy, they are in a position to insist. If they fail to do so, and there is a serious nuclear accident, the Ministers who allowed such risks to be taken should face prosecution along with the British Energy executives. Sadly, we will have to make do with contempt for the Tories for failing to oppose the Government on this important issue.