Newspaper
Taking the nuclear option
The Landscape Institute has criticised the Government’s recent energy review, particularly the announcement that the UK will build a new generation of nuclear power stations.
“References to nuclear energy as ‘clean energy’ are truly misleading,” said president Nigel Thorne. “When calculating energy costs we need to factor in the costs to our landscapes and embracing nuclear so positively clearly leaves a huge amount out of the picture.
“Renewable energy generation in the landscape can be dismantled and discontinued without long-term damage. Nuclear’s legacy in the landscape is there for generations to come. Landscapes cannot be exploited to feed growing energy demands without paying a price and our energy needs should be seen in this context – other parts of government policy show signs of considering landscape issues more comprehensively, yet on energy the old approach of generating fuel whatever the detrimental impact seems to endure.
“Sustainability should be the first principle and nuclear leaves a lot to be desired on that score,” he added.
In a Commons statement on the energy review, Trade Secretary Alistair Darling said: “The Government has concluded that new nuclear power stations could make a significant contribution to meeting our energy policy goals.
“Nuclear does mean we can generate electricity without carbon emissions. It does provide a consistency of energy which wind power cannot,” he said.
Darling stressed that “a mix of energy supply is essential and we should not be over-dependent on one source.”
In line with this, the review calls for electricity companies to increase the proportion of energy they supply from renewable sources from 15 per cent to 20 per cent. Then from a usage perspective, new incentives will be introduced to encourage households to become more energy efficient, alongside measures to cut the 7 per cent used by domestic appliances left on standby and to reduce the amount of energy that is wasted by businesses.
Micro-generation and other local energy sources, such as combined heat and power plants, will also be boosted. In anticipation of this, the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has granted David Cameron permission to install a wind turbine and solar panels on his west London home.
Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the review is the proposal to reform the planning process in order to speed up the delivery of energy infrastructure projects. Darling commented: “Critically, the planning system needs to be streamlined and it needs to deliver. “We’ll be acting to ensure that energy companies, whether seeking to build gas storage facilities, wind farms or any other kind of large energy installation, are not faced with costly uncertainties and delay.”
Town and Country Planning Association director Gideon Amos said: “Reinventing the planning process will not make nuclear power any safer or more attractive to those who would be expected to live next door.”
Neil Sinden, CPRE’s policy director concurred. He said: “The Government risks undermining the role of the planning system in securing sustainable development. In tackling our energy needs, effective spatial planning should be seen as part of the solution, not part of the problem.
“Any proposals to weaken the public’s voice in future planning decisions will only intensify concern over nuclear power and other large energy installations, making long-term solutions harder to find.”
Nigel Thorne was equally dismayed. He said: “There is so much more to be done on reducing energy use and demand – by investment in retro-fitting our built environment and working on local solutions to the energy equations for instance – before we embark on another generation of large-scale, far-reaching exploitation of our landscape for fuel, whatever the method of generation.”
“It is not acceptable to manipulate planning restrictions or to impose new standards only on new build to fix our energy cravings,” he added. Discuss this article
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