British PM says 1,000 extra nuclear power stations can end global oil addiction

Washington, June 13 : British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said that the world needs 1,000 extra nuclear power stations, as part of an effort to end the global addiction to oil.

According to a report in The Independent, Brown said that increased number of nuclear power plants would help to meet growing demands for energy.

Brown said that the turning point had been the steep rise in the global price of oil, which had caused fears about energy security and left nuclear energy looking less prohibitively expensive than in the past.

He castigated anti-nuclear protesters, saying that if they had their way, a ban on the development of nuclear power would accelerate climate change and lead to more global poverty as the seas rose, and developing countries were hit by extreme weather.

His comments came as the Environment Secretary, Hilary Benn, outlined plans to offer communities money to provide burial sites for nuclear waste.

Areas of the UK that offered sites would become involved in a "multibillion-pound" project, which would bring benefits such as hundreds of new, skilled jobs.

The new rush by Britain to embrace nuclear power was underlined by the Business Secretary, John Hutton, at a conference for investors in nuclear power.

He announced the creation of a new Office of Nuclear Development, within the Department for Business, to build more effective cross-government working on nuclear energy.

There will also be a Nuclear Development Forum, chaired by the Secretary of State, bringing together government and the industry, to discuss key issues and maintain momentum as nuclear new build grows.

Brown has also promised that by the end of the month, the Government would publish its plans for a 700 per cent increase in energy from renewable sources such as wind farms, wave power, biomass, and solar energy.

ANI