London, Jan 11, IRNA ,Up to 10 nuclear power stations could be built in Britain by 2020 under government plans to replace the country’s ageing reactors.
Business and Industry Secretary John Hutton gave the go ahead for a new generation of nuclear plants on Thursday, claiming that they should “play a role in providing the UK with clean, secure and affordable energy which is in our country’s vital long term interest.”
French-owned company EDF, one of Britain’s leading power suppliers, immediately announced their interest in building four nuclear stations in Britain, the first by 2017.
Other providers, including the German power company, E.On, the British Gas parent company Centrica and RWE npower, the country’s largest electricity supplier, also expressed interest in building plants at a likely cost of Pnds 2.8 billion (Dlrs 5.6 bn) each.
A looming energy crisis caused by dwindling oil and gas supplies from the British sector of the North Sea causing a greater dependence on imported sources has led the government back to the nuclear option for the first time in nearly half a century.
The UK currently has 20 nuclear reactors, but nearly half of these are already closed and a four are due to be decommissioned by 2015 and five more by 2025.
Hutton confirmed that a third of the UK’s generating capacity was coming offline within the next 20 years, and said that with the increasing reliance on imported energy, it was clear that investment was needed.
But apart from the huge cost, which the minister insisted would be borne by private investors without subsidies, the plans are also being opposed on grounds of safety and the disposal of radioactive waste.