Greens say don't waste money on nuclear power.

26th March 2008

Sheffield Green Party is urging Prime Minister Gordon Brown to invest in
"safe, renewable energy" instead of nuclear power as he prepares to meet the French president Nicholas Sarkozy on Thursday. The two leaders will announce a deal to construct a new generation of nuclear power stations and export the technology around the world.

Central ward election candidate Rob Murphy said, "Nuclear power is dangerous, costly,and won't stop climate change. No effective solution to the storage of nuclear waste has ever been found. Uranium is already becoming expensive and scarce, which means new nuclear power stations built in the next decade do not have a guaranteed fuel supply (1). The costs of nuclear will also be passed on to consumers already suffering soaring energy bills.

"The two million pounds that the government gives to the nuclear industry in subsidies every day could be invested instead in renewable energy, like wind, wave and solar power. This would truly tackle climate change and provide Britain with secure, home-grown sources of energy. And jobs in these industries could be created right here in Sheffield, which has the engineering and technical expertise needed to develop them."

ENDS

Notes:
1. European Renewable Energy Council & Greenpeace Energy revolution,
January 2007, p.47.