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"Britain's lights will stay on even without new nuclear power plants replacing the ageing reactors which are set to close in the next few years, energy secretary Chris Huhne said on Thursday. UK Reiterating that the government will not block new nuclear builds, Huhne said that nuclear's contribution to power generation could fall below the current 20 percent level with no risk of an energy gap if there was sufficient investment in other sources. "If we set the right framework for low carbon generation, then the market will deliver enough with the right mix. If that includes nuclear, that's envisaged in the coalition agreement, then that will be up to investors," Huhne added at the sidelines of the UK Energy Summit conference."

"Paul Spence says the nuclear industry expects to pay the full cost of decommissioning a new generation of nuclear power stations (Response, 15 June). But his words about "our full share of waste management and disposal costs" were carefully chosen. The consultation document reveals that EDF considers their full share of these costs to be around 20% of the total. As our report Nuclear Power? No Point! highlighted last year, nuclear is only responsible for 4% of the energy consumed in the UK. More energy can be saved by energy conservation measures in homes and businesses. Focusing on the nuclear industry takes resources away from building new renewable capacity, which, given sufficient political will, could provide more than enough electricity for the UK. Darren Johnson Green party spokesperson on Trade and Industry * EDF's claim that they "have not asked for subsidy for new nuclear" is not all that it seems. The nuclear industry, owned by British Energy (in turn owned by EDF), will be receiving huge sums of windfall profits under government proposals for a floor price on carbon emission allowances. British Energy will greatly expand its profits for no increase in nuclear power production, all subsidised by electricity consumers."

Late in September, the leading UK nuclear generator, British Energy (BE), said it had concluded a deal to be bought by France's sole nuclear generator, Electricité de France (EDF). The buyout creates a new company - technically, called Lake Acquisitions Ltd - to run most existing UK nuclear plants, as well as being keen to build new ones. It was immediately indicated that the Treasury, which would receive £4.4bn for the government's 36% shareholding in BE, would use the money raised to top up the fund set aside to decommission the existing nuclear plants.

Thousands of Chagos islanders have had the right to return to their homeland in the Indian Ocean overturned by a House of Lords judgement. The former residents, evicted from the British overseas territory between 1967 and 1971, hoped their heritage could be rebuilt around a new tourist industry and fishing. But the largest Chagos island of Diego Garcia, which the UK leased to the US for a military air base remains an issue of contention.

The Environment Agency (EA) has admitted it should have told local people earlier about a leak from a nuclear submarine at a UK base. Hundreds of litres of coolant spilled into the River Tamar from HMS Trafalgar while it was being worked on at Devonport on 7 November. But Plymouth City Council, which is responsible for emergency planning, was only told on 11 November.

Government accused of driving through energy policy by using slanted study A public consultation on new nuclear power stations which was run by a company linked to the Prime Minister's personal pollster has been criticised for breaching industry guidelines. Environmentalists and opposition MPs denounced the exercise as "fixed" after the Market Research Standards Board said some material given to focus groups was "inaccurately or misleadingly presented".

Should you happen to find yourself debating with a passionate supporter of nuclear power about how to supply our country's future energy needs, the odds are that pretty early in the debate they'll play their trump card - namely that only nuclear can supply the 'base load' necessary to ensure that the lights stay on throughout the long, dark British winter. Hang the dangers of radioactivity, forget the ruinous expense, they'll say - we can't do without nuclear power.

Westinghouse Electric Co. said it signed separate agreements September 4 with three companies to collaborate on work for construction in the UK of its AP1000 reactor design. In a September 4 press statement, Westinghouse said the agreements ? with BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and Doosan Babcock -- may lead to the UK supply chain providing 70%-80% of the services required to build the AP1000.

Plans to dispose of radioactive waste at the site of a former opencast pit in Cumbria have met with opposition. Recycling and waste management firm Sita UK wants to buy land at Keekle Head, near Whitehaven, for the disposal of low level radioactive waste.

Gordon Brown has invited oil-rich states like Saudi Arabia to invest in the next generation of British nuclear power stations. Saudi Arabian King Abdullah has been invited by Gordon Brown to invest in Britain's nuclear industry King Abdullah, pictured on a visit to the UK, will be invited to invest in the UK The Prime Minister extended the invitation to OPEC members as part of a deal he will propose at a summit in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

ON October 17, 1956, the Queen threw a switch to connect Calder Hall nuclear power station to the grid. It was the world's first commercial nuclear power station and had been built from scratch in three years. It continued to operate well for the next 47 years, and became the first of a series of 11 Magnox nuclear power stations. Next year, the last of those will close, leaving Britain at the mercy of fossil fuel, much of it imported, to meet a growing demand for electrical power. The Magnox stations and their successors - a generation of bigger, more modern pressurised-water reactors (PWRs) - were a triumph for sophisticated, British engineering. Sizewell B PWR was built and opened in 1995. It was intended to be the first of a series of 10 PWR stations but it was to be the last one to be built in the UK - even though, at its opening, nuclear power was providing a crucial 20% of UK electricity.

The Government's handling of the nuclear power industry's rebirth was attacked by MPs last night as it emerged that the executive responsible for the £73 billion clean-up operation has still not been replaced eight months after his departure. Ian Roxburgh quit as chief executive of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, a key organisation tasked with the clean-up of 19 toxic UK sites, including Sellafield, Harwell and Dounreay, last July. But The Times has learnt that the NDA is still struggling to find a replacement, leaving a string of pressing issues building up in his successor's in-tray, including questions over how the UK should handle waste created by new reactors.

A new report out today casts doubt on the ability of the nuclear industry to deliver its promised new reactors. French companies EDF and Areva, who are at the forefront of the new worldwide reactor design and building programme, have been making serious investments in foreign markets where they hope to build new reactors, including here in the UK. As a consequence they are heavily in debt. Today, EDF announced the issue of new bonds in an effort to raise fresh cash. With the outlook for new build looking increasingly uncertain, the future of both EDF and Areva is now also coming under scrutiny.

A new report out today casts doubt on the ability of the nuclear industry to deliver its promised new reactors. French companies EDF and Areva, who are at the forefront of the new worldwide reactor design and building programme, have been making serious investments in foreign markets where they hope to build new reactors, including here in the UK. As a consequence they are heavily in debt. Today, EDF announced the issue of new bonds in an effort to raise fresh cash. With the outlook for new build looking increasingly uncertain, the future of both EDF and Areva is now also coming under scrutiny.

Children affected by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster have resumed respite trips to the UK after the resolution of a long diplomatic row with Belarus. The eight-month ban was lifted in May following talks between the two countries, the Home Office has said. Belarusian president Alexander LUKashenko stopped all foreign trips after a 16-year-old girl who visited California refused to return home. Every year hundreds of children around Chernobyl are diagnosed with cancer.

Nearly 370 farms in Britain are still restricted in the way they use land and rear sheep because of radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear power station accident 23 years ago, the government has admitted. Environmentalists have seized on the figures as proof of the enormous dangers posed by nuclear power as the UK moves towards building a new generation of plants around the country. Dawn Primarolo, minister for health, revealed 369 farms and 190,000 sheep were affected, but pointed out this was a tiny number compared with the immediate impact of radioactive fallout from UKraine.

THE United Nations Association Edinburgh has called on the UK government to follow Belgium's lead on banning depleted uranium weapons. Belgium's decision has been praised by European military unions who are concerned about the impact the weapons may have on their members. Opposition to uranium weapons in Belgium has been spearheaded by a group of more than 20 NGOs, including Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth. Gari Donn, chair of UNA Edinburgh, said: "Today marks the passage into force of Belgium's 2007 decision to ban the use of uranium in conventional weapons and armour after a series of unanimous parliamentary votes.

The UK Atomic Energy Authority expects the sale of its commercial arm to be completed by the end of September, chief executive officer Norman Harrison said. Harrison also told delegates at a decommissioning conference July 1 that the UKAEA, a state-owned company that pioneers the development of nuclear energy within the UK, plans to bid for decommissioning work at the Dounreay nuclear plant in Scotland once the government tender is launched later this year. UKAEA Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary that provides nuclear decommissioning, waste management and site environmental remediation services, was put up for sale in late March after the government said the business could operate independently and concentrate on growing its operations overseas.

"One of the two new nuclear reactor designs being considered for use in Britain may not be strong enough to withstand a direct hit from a commercial airliner, which could stop the technology being licensed in Britain, the UK's nuclear safety watchdog said yesterday. The claim from the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) that the design could be vulnerable to terrorist attacks is a blow for the American-Japanese group that is behind the AP1000 reactor type. Toshiba-Westinghouse sees the UK as a significant growth market and hopes that the technology can play a big role in plans to build a new generation of nuclear power stations in Britain. But yesterday the NII raised its concerns in an official letter, which insisted that Toshiba-Westinghouse provide fresh evidence that the design was sufficiently strong to withstand "external shocks" before it could be considered for a UK licence."

With the Copenhagen climate conference under way, the UK government under pressure to cut carbon emissions and Wylfa on Anglesey shortlisted for a new nuclear power station, BBC Wales' environment correspondent Iolo ap Dafydd asks if nuclear is the low carbon answer to energy security in the future. Inside the ageing Wylfa plant there are four large turbines which are part of the process to produce electricity 24 hours a day. When fully operational, they produce enough electricity to power both Liverpool and Manchester simultaneously. With a predicted shortage of energy by 2015, should we build more nuclear power stations?

With the Copenhagen climate conference under way, the UK government under pressure to cut carbon emissions and Wylfa on Anglesey shortlisted for a new nuclear power station, BBC Wales' environment correspondent Iolo ap Dafydd asks if nuclear is the low carbon answer to energy security in the future. Inside the ageing Wylfa plant there are four large turbines which are part of the process to produce electricity 24 hours a day. When fully operational, they produce enough electricity to power both Liverpool and Manchester simultaneously. With a predicted shortage of energy by 2015, should we build more nuclear power stations?