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Nuclear power is back in the game, but remains a distant prospect for UK
(The Guardian, 27 Mar 2022) The industry has been in steady decline but some believe the war in Ukraine makes the case for revival of energy technology.
Compared to some of his pet projects – the bridge across the Irish Sea or a floating airport in the Thames – Boris Johnson’s plan to get 25% of UK electricity from nuclear power plants by 2050 isn’t all that fanciful.
The same mark was reached within living memory, after the commissioning of Sizewell B in 1995.
If the climate crisis weren’t reason enough, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has crystallised the case for any energy technology that allows us to eschew fossil fuels supplied by foreign despots.
This week, the prime minister is expected to outline his plan to make the UK more energy self-sufficient, with nuclear likely to be a key component. Charging at full pelt towards a nuclear future is far from straightforward, though, if history is anything to go by.
Even when the UK did produce a quarter of its electricity from nukes, the journey there was long and bumpy. Sizewell B was hooked up to the national grid in 1995, but it was first announced in 1969, with spades only breaking ground in 1986.
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The Guardian, 27 Mar 2022: Nuclear power is back in the game, but remains a distant prospect for UK
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