London behind nuclear revival, Huhne says

LONDON, Aug. 9 (UPI) -- Britain is on track to open a first new nuclear reactor in 2018, Energy Secretary Chris Huhne said Monday.

The Liberal Democrat minister said the new British government is behind plans of its predecessor to support the construction of new nuclear reactors within eight years.

"We are on course to make sure that the first new nuclear power station opens on time in 2018," he told the BBC in an interview. "There are a number of sites that have been identified around the country and those are generally on sites where we have previously had, for example, nuclear power stations and where the local people are very keen that there should be new nuclear build."

"We have eight years now before I hope that the first one will come making a contribution to the grid," he added.

Huhne tried to counter allegations that Britain's nuclear revival is at jeopardy because of slow government planning. The industry lobbying group said in a report that up to $238 billion of private investment is at risk because Britain's energy policy is unclear.

"Energy companies are unable to get the ball rolling on new infrastructure projects when it is unclear how the future planning regime will work," CBI Deputy Director General John Cridland said in a statement. "Uncertainty on plans for electricity market reform, slow progress on clean coal and nuclear power, as well as the cost of renewable energy are adding to the mood of caution among investors. We need investment from companies, not delays from government."

Huhne said investors are ready to spend their money.

"We have very clear signals from investors that they are going ahead," he said. "I've absolutely no intention of the lights going out on my watch."

The Labor government in 2008 decided to launch a nuclear revival to counter possible energy generation capacity shortcomings when most of Britain's aging nuclear power plants go offline by 2023. Nuclear power stations are also seen as vital to help reduce Britain's carbon-dioxide emissions by 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.

London has invited a host of European utilities to launch Britain's new nuclear era, with EDF from France as well as Eon and RWE from Germany announcing plans to build new reactors.

For Huhne, backing nuclear power is something of a political turnaround. As an opposition member three years ago, he denounced nuclear power as "economically foolhardy, environmentally irresponsible."

"If we opt for a new generation of nuclear reactors, future generations may rue the day," he wrote in 2007, the Daily Telegraph newspaper reports. "We will be encumbering them with high costs and enormous and unknowable liabilities. We will miss a key opportunity to pioneer a green future."

Huhne told the BBC his past position on nuclear power had been "misunderstood," arguing that it stemmed from the fact that private investments in nuclear haven't been forthcoming since the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear accident in the United States.

"There will be investment in new nuclear and that will be an important part of our energy mix, along, of course, with coal and gas, as long as there is carbon capture and storage, and along with renewables," he said.