Britain to close two oldest nuclear power stations

London, Dec 30: Britain will on Sunday turn off its two oldest nuclear power plants as part of a process that will retire all but one of the country's ageing nuclear fleet within 16 years.

The large Magnox Sizewell A and Dungeness A reactors respectively on England's east and south coast have generated electricity for the past 40 years but have now reached the end of their extended design life.

''Combined we produce 1.2 percent of the nation's electricity, but we have been assured by the National Grid that even on New Year's Eve no one's televisions or lights will flicker when we switch off,'' a spokesman told Reuters yesterday.

Nuclear power supplies some 20 per cent of Britain's electricity, but that will have slumped to just four percent when the Torness station closes in 2023 leaving just Sizewell B operating until it too closes in 2035.

The government, anxious to plug the power gap and at the same time meet its own and international commitments to combat climate change by cutting carbon emissions, wants a new generation of nuclear power plants to be built.

The nuclear industry, resurgent worldwide as countries seek to reduce reliance on fossil fuels in the face of the global warming crisis, has indicated its eagerness but insisted on price guarantees -- a plea the government has so far rejected.

Most scientists agree that temperatures will rise by between two and six degrees Celsius this century due mainly to carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels for power and transport, putting millions of lives at risk from floods and famines.

Former World Bank chief economist Nicholas Stern said in October that urgent action on global warming was vital, and that delay would multiply the cost 20 times.

Nuclear power enthusiasts say it emits no carbon dioxide -- the main global warming culprit -- is a stable source of power and its fuel can be stored for years so helping guarantee energy security.

Opponents say it is not a clean power source and that its waste not only remains lethal for generations but is a target for attacks by terrorists.

They propose alternative renewable power sources like wind, waves and biomass, and far greater energy efficiency in generation, transmission and usage.

Underscoring the point, while Sizewell A and Dungeness A will go off line for good on Sunday it will be up to 100 years before the sites will be declared clean for new uses.

Reuters