By KUNA
London : A new generation of nuclear power stations in the UK was Thursday given the formal go-ahead by the British Government.
Business Secretary John Hutton told the House of Commons nuclear power would help secure the UK’s future energy supplies and fight climate change.
He said nuclear was “tried and tested”, safe and “affordable” and was one of the cheapest options for the UK to meet its carbon reduction targets.
But critics say new reactors will be expensive, dirty and dangerous.
Existing nuclear power stations produce about 20 percent of the UK’s electricity.
Ministers say a decision is necessary now, as many nuclear and coal-fired power stations are due to close within 20 years.
The Government’s former chief scientific adviser Sir David King told BBC domestic radio “Nuclear is no longer expensive, given the price of oil and gas”.
“Obviously safety is a question that has to be dealt with very, very carefully”, he added.
Sir David said that France had the “lowest carbon footprint in Europe” because of its use of nuclear power.
But Green Party principle speaker Miss Caroline Lucas told the BBC “What we are being offered by the Government is far too little too late, at far too high a price”.
“We should be putting energy efficiency at the heart of our strategy”, she added.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said yesterday that ministers were also looking at how to use more renewable sources, such as wind and wave power.