Nuclear reactors 'needed to meet emissions targets'

Several new nuclear reactors need to be constructed if the UK is to meet its carbon emissions targets by 2030, it has been claimed.

A report published recently by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), in conjunction with management consulting firm McKinsey and Company, suggested that the government needs to shift the direction of its energy policy.

They claim that 34 per cent of the country's energy needs to come from nuclear power.
Venkie Shantaram, a spokesman for McKinsey and Company, said ten to 15 new reactors are needed.

"I can absolutely assure you that when we modelled it, we went down to where the sites are, how many reactors can be built there and one thing I can say very comfortably to you is no new sites. No green field sites," he commented.

John Crindland, deputy director general of the CBI, said the government's energy policy does not deliver enough where renewables are concerned, adding that the consequence will be having to go back to coal and gas.

According to the World Nuclear Association, 40 reactors are currently under construction around the world.

Written by Lauren Steadman