Nuclear opponents hit out at Government energy strategy (From Bridgwater Mercury)

Nuclear opponents hit out at Government energy strategy

8:40am Friday 11th January 2008

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THE announcement of more nuclear power stations - and the obvious implications for Somerset's Hinkley Point site - drew swift criticism from some quarters.

Stop Hinkley, an action group with a long-running opposition to using the Hinkley site as a nuclear power base, spoke out immediately against the decision.

Spokesman Jim Duffy told the Mercury he felt a Hinkley Point C would be unpopular in Somerset, while any new station would not be built in time to plug a predicted energy shortfall.

He said: "A Hinkley C cannot be built before 2020, even with undemocratic new planning laws, so how can it help the energy gap expected by 2015?

"Nor would it help with climate change as the Government predicted a whole fleet of reactors would save just 4% of our carbon emissions. The difficult decision Gordon Brown is forcing on us is also the wrong one.

"It's especially galling as local families will be contemplating the risks to their safety and health brought about by this unnecessary technology.

"Clean renewables and energy conservation driven by a committed Government are a better, quicker and cheaper answer."

That view was backed by Sedgemoor's Green Party, whose spokesman Charles Graham said the Government had blundered by supporting nuclear power when green energy is a more sensible alternative.

He said: "I cannot condemn this strongly enough. What the British people demand is cheap, clean and green energy - not an expensive, carbon emitting, dirty energy that will leave a disgraceful legacy of nuclear waste for our children.

"Nuclear energy will not begin to tackle the problems in the next decade - the most critical period for global warming action.

"Taxpayers will be picking up the bill for decades and the radioactive waste will be polluting Britain for millions of years."

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