Nuclear power
The CEO of EDF is very excited about the prospect of more nuclear power stations being built in the UK. 80% of France's electricity is generated by nuclear power. The sites being mooted for the new power stations here are Hinkley Point, Dungeness, Bradwell and Sizewell. The problem is the waste. At the moment, the waste is "temporarily" being stored at Sellafield in Cumbria and the government has a policy of building a long-term underground storage facility which many thought would be near Sellafield. If the new power stations are sited in the south, the waste will have to be transported across the country which is not popular. Why not simply do a deal with EDF? They get the contracts on the south coast on condition that they transport the waste back to France and bury it there?
posted by Whispering Walls at 10:18 am
6 Comments:
How shall I say this diplomatically? England is an island so ....
Also to keep energy costs down and to avoid extra cost, waste should remain where it was generated.
Ah ED...vive la difference!
Whatever the contract turns out to be I will guarantee that a) the French will get more out of it than the UK b) we will end up with their waste as well c) the French will get FAR more out of it than we will & d) the French will get far far FAR more out of it than we will. They even managed to offload the 2012 Olympic Games onto us
The French get 80% of their electricity from power stations and can live with this quite happily. Dealing with the waste is a huge issue and I have sat in on public consultations about this and ticked boxes about whether it should be be dumped in the sea or in space. There is no doubt we must have nuclear power, that are power stations are too old and under performing. But I still don't know the answer about waste. There will never be an answer that pleases everyone. We need to look at best practice around the world and consider those options, whether they would suit our landscape and infrastructure.
Sounds a good solution to me, WW!
I only hope that the government will be as careful with the extra nuclear waste as it is with peoples personal details.
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