Greens to launch Alternative Energy Report
27 February 2006
The report, co-authored by Dr David Toke, Green Party Energy Advisor, and Dr Simon Taylor, will add to the debate surrounding publication of the government's Energy Review.
Green Party Principal Speaker Caroline Lucas MEP, commenting on the report, said: "Tony Blair is determined to push this country down the nuclear route, based on two arguments: guaranteeing affordable energy supply, and reducingcarbon emissions. The Alternative Energy Review proves what anti-nuclear campaigners have long suspected - that even using these criteria, nuclear power is the inferior choice. It shows that a twin-pronged investment in renewable alternatives and energy efficiency and conservation measures will not only deliver greater emissions reductions than nuclear power, it will deliver them more cheaply, and all without the huge safety risks inherent in the nuclear option."
Green Party Principal Speaker Keith Taylor said: "The DTI's energy review is a token effort, aimed at legitimising a pre-determined decision to commission a new generation of nuclear power stations.
"This report introduces some radical yet practical steps to combat emissions without expensive investment in unsustainable, uneconomic and unsafe nuclear power."
Proposed measures include:- A Demand Reduction Obligation: extending the current Energy EfficiencyCommitment to cover the commercial, industrial and public administrationsectors- Expansion of the Renewables Obligation
A range of measures are evaluated, specifying how much carbon and investment capital would be saved, with a net saving economically, compared to a nuclear option that will cost billions, even by optimistic industry figures.
Dr Toke said: "The amount of carbon saved through 'fast tracked' nuclear power over the next 15 years will be around 28 million tonnes compared to 150 million via the cheaper measures mentioned. The non-nuclear measures cited constitute the equivalent of a reduction in annual CO2 emissions from the electricity sector of nearly 40 per cent of present levels."
Keith Taylor added: "By implementing the measures proposed in this report we can save the present generation a huge hike in electricity bills and taxes, and the generations to come an unsolvable legacy of toxic nuclear waste."
