Professor Gordon Mackerron, SPRU, University of Sussex
Nuclear investment within the UK is becoming credible again because: the political fall-out from Chernobyl has receded; price volatility for oil and gas has increased; there is international investment interest in nuclear; climate change has become a bigger driver; and nuclear offers a route to bulk baseload power. The 2007 EWP sees nuclear as both a low-carbon option and a way to improve security of supply, although there is considerable uncertainty over what the economics might be. The EWP sets out a range of facilitative actions to enable the development of new nuclear power (design, planning, back end costs, justification process), but these are yet to be tested.
Post your comments and questions for the speakers here