Experts attack plan for energy

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Updated: 19:00 EST, 24 February 2003

THE UK faces a bigger risk of power blackouts now the Government has decided to defer a decision to build new nuclear power stations until 2005, electricity industry figures have warned.

Trade Secretary Patricia Hewitt on Monday released her blueprint for renewable energy sources, such as wind farms, to replace the ageing nuclear stations which generate 23% of the UK's electricity.

But the industry warned that renewable energy sources will never be reliable enough to ensure a continuous power supply. The UK will become a net importer of oil and gas by 2010, making it vulnerable to instability in producer countries.

One senior industry source said: 'The policy has not answered the question of what happens in the middle of December if there are two weeks without wind.'

Experts say that at the very least Hewitt should have reduced the risk of blackouts by licensing the next generation of nuclear reactors, a move that would reduce the time it takes to build new plant.