Boris Johnson goes nuclear: PM plans seven new reactors to help make the UK more energy sufficient
Boris Johnson goes nuclear: PM plans SEVEN new reactors to boost UK’s energy self-reliance – but drops plans to double the number of wind turbines amid Tory backlash
PM rejected plan to double output from countryside windfarms by 2030 Tories in the shires are very anti-wind, but now could get nuclear plants instead Johnson is expected to finally unveil much-delayed energy strategy on ThursdayTransport Secretary Grant Shapps publicly opposed new wind farms yesterday
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Boris Johnson has shelved plans to double or even treble the number of wind turbines in the countryside and approve plans for up to seven new nuclear reactors instead.
The Prime Minister is said to have rejected ambitious targets presented by Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng to double the UK’s onshore output to 30GW by 2030.
Instead, Tory opposition in the party’s shire England heartlands and within the Cabinet means that new atomic power sites in rural areas are likely to get Government backing.
The decommissioned power station at Wylfa, on Anglesey, has been suggested as a possible location for the first of a series of small reactor plants.
Mr Johnson is expected to finally unveil his much-delayed new energy strategy on Thursday without any hard targets for onshore wind. But it is expected to lift a moratorium in place since 2015 to allow them to be built were there is local support.
It came after Transport Secretary Grant Shapps publicly opposed new wind farms yesterday in favour of new nuclear sites.
Boris Johnson has shelved plans to double or even treble the number of wind turbines in the countryside and approve plans for up to seven new nuclear reactors instead, as well as those already in the pipeline (above).
The Prime Minister is said to have rejected ambitious targets presented by Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng to double the UK’s onshore output to 30GW by 2030.
The Prime Minister is expected to unveil his much-delayed energy strategy on Thursday, as millions of Britons feel the pinch from a surge in power prices.
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng wants to double onshore wind production to 30GW by 2030. But Transport Secretary Grant Shapps today said he was opposed to more wind farms on land, claiming turbines were an ‘eyesore’ and often noisy.
Asked if planning laws should be relaxed to allow for more onshore wind, he told Sky’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme: ‘I don’t favour a vast increase in onshore wind farms, for pretty obvious reasons – they sit on the hills there and can create something of an eyesore for communities as well as actual problems of noise as well.
‘So I think for reasons of environmental protection, the way to go with this is largely, not entirely, but largely off-sea.’
Mr Johnson joked about putting a new nuclear reactor ‘in every Labour seat’ to cut energy bills, it was reported at the weekend.
He has also suggested a ‘colossal’ floating offshore windfarm could be built in the Irish sea, when he met industry leaders last week.
It comes as polling, both privately for the Tories and public surveys, show strong support for wind farms in greenfield sites – as long as the locals are given cut-price or free power from them.
Ed Miliband, Labour’s shadow climate change and net zero secretary, said: ‘Families across the country are paying more on their energy bills because of the government’s moratorium on onshore wind, the cheapest power available.
‘Now the government seems to be backing off rumoured plans to scrap the ban, all because of pressure from the same Tory backbenchers who got it imposed in the first place.
‘Britain deserves better than the Conservatives, who are incapable of acting in the public interest.
‘For our energy security, to cut bills and to tackle the climate crisis, we need a green energy sprint. But this government is showing day by day they cannot deliver it.’
The International Trade Secretary is to argue the UK must build its green economy to ‘eliminate Russian fuel from our energy mix once and for all’.
The decommissioned power station at Wylfa, on Anglesey, has been suggested as a possible location for the first of a series of small reactor plants.
Speaking during a visit to Norway, Anne-Marie Trevelyan will say the UK must first use its relationships with ‘reliable energy partners’ to ‘meet our needs, protect our supply chains, and steady the global market’.
But it must also invest in more sustainable sources, she will say, as green energy is out of the ‘malign reach’ of Vladimir Putin.
It comes as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused turmoil in global energy markets.
The International Trade Secretary will make the remarks at a keynote speech at the Nor-Shipping Ocean Leadership conference on Monday.
Her trip to Norway will also involve meetings with senior figures in Norwegian industry and government.
