"Nuclear power is an expensive and dangerous distraction from real
and ready climate change solutions," said Shawn-Patrick Stensil,
energy campaigner with Greenpeace. "It underlines the folly of the
Harper government secret decisions to support the nuclear industry
while dragging its feet on investing in options to fight climate
change that work today, such as renewables."
A
cover story in Maclean's magazine reported this week that the
Harper Government has secretly decided to subsidize the nuclear
industry over the long-term, including the design a new generation
of nuclear reactors (referred to as Generation IV) that won't be
active for decades.
Ottawa has subsidized the nuclear industry by $20 billion over the
past 50 years through Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), a
federal Crown corporation mandated to design and sell Candu
reactors. AECL receives approximately $100 - $200 million
annually in subsidies. A commitment to continue funding AECL until
2030 would likely cost Canadians $3 billion.
"Climate change means we need to invest taxpayer dollars wisely in
energy options that tangibly cut greenhouse gas emissions
quickly. Shifting federal subsidies from the nuclear industry to
green energy options will bring greenhouse gas reductions in our
lifetime. Nuclear subsidies will in fact delay real solutions and
hurt Canada's competitiveness in the booming renewable energy
sector," said Stensil.
The report, The Economics of Nuclear Power, commissioned by
Greenpeace International, surveyed the cost over-runs and delays
experienced by nuclear projects, as well as the hidden costs
arising from the questionable safety and reliability of new
reactors designs.
The report's principal findings were:
- In country after country nuclear construction regularly goes
massively over budget;
- On average reactor construction projects take four years longer
to build than planned;
- Due to huge subsidies, uncompetitive high prices, poor
reliability and serious risks of cost overruns, nuclear power
cannot be economically viable in countries with competitive power
procurement;
- Significant and widespread concerns remain over the basic
safety, waste disposal and decommissioning of existing plants;
One of the authors of the report, Steve Thomas, Professor of Energy
Policy at Greenwich University said: "The nuclear industry has
always made unfulfilled promises about its ability to meet energy
demands, yet history reveals a damning testament to its failure.
Pursuing a new programme of nuclear reactors would deny us the
opportunity to make the necessary investment in renewable
technologies and energy efficiency to meet future energy demands in
an economically viable and sustainable way."
A
clear example of this is the current construction of the new
generation European Pressurized Water Reactor (EPR) at Okiluoto, in
Finland - the first reactor of it's kind - which after only 18
months of construction was 18 months behind schedule and EU700
million over budget.
The report is also supported by a recent study of the World Energy
Council, which found the time to complete construction of nuclear
reactors increased from 66 months in the mid- 1970s, to 116 months
(nearly 10 years) for those constructed between 1995 and 2000.
These massive construction delays emphasize the fact that nuclear
power will deliver too little, too late in the challenge to tackle
climate change.
"Ottawa has subsidized the nuclear industry for 50 years and the
industry has failed to deliver to on the 1950s promise of clean and
cheap atomic power. If members of parliament are serious about
fighting climate change they will bring decisions on nuclear
subsidies out from the backrooms. We need a public accounting of
effectiveness of nuclear subsidies in fighting climate change
compared to other cheaper and quicker green energy options," said
Stensil.
In January, Greenpeace International released a global energy
blueprint for how to cut global greenhouse gas emissions by almost
50% by phasing out conventional energy sources like fossil fuels
and nuclear and bringing online renewable energy, combined with
efficiencies from the 'smart use' of energy to deliver half of the
world's energy needs by 2050.
-
30 -
Other contacts: Shawn-Patrick Stensil, Energy Campaigner, shawn.patrick.stensil@yto.greenpeace.org
Exp. contact date: 2007-05-02 00:00:00