Britain sets out major energy policy shake-up

LONDON, May 23 (Reuters) Britain today set out radical plans to secure energy supplies and fight global warming, calling for new nuclear power plants, more renewable energy and stressing key roles for businesses and individuals.

Britain's oil and gas from the North Sea are dwindling and it is keenly aware that Russia, which supplies 40 per cent of Europe's gas, disrupted supplies last year. It also wants to meet its carbon emission cut targets.

''If nuclear is excluded there is every chance that its place would be taken by gas and coal generation which of course emits carbon,'' Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling told parliament, announcing his Energy White Paper.

''I am quite clear in my mind that it is important that we have a mix of energy supply ... that we don't become overly dependent on imported gas. That is bad for the environment but is also very worrying in relation to the security of energy supplies in the future,'' he added.

Darling said that the new measures would save up to 33 million tonnes of carbon by 2020 - equivalent to the emissions from every road vehicle in the country.

The government wants to triple electricity from renewable sources and to boost energy efficiency.

The European Union aims to get 20 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020, and a draft law going through the British parliament calls for the country to cut emissions of climate-warming carbon dioxide by 60 per cent by 2050.

But Prime Minister Tony Blair and many of his ministers insist Britain must have a new generation of nuclear power plants to replace the 20 per cent of electric power its ageing network provides.

PUBLIC CONSULTATION The White Paper covers all the energy options and makes it clear that the government wants nuclear power - to the outrage of many environmentalists.

But because it was rapped over the knuckles earlier this year for failing to consult the public adequately on the nuclear issue, the government was also today forced to launch a full consultation process lasting to early October.

The clock is ticking. All but one of the existing nuclear power plants are due to close by 2023 and even the most optimistic pro-nuclear lobbyists reckon it will take a minimum of 10 years to build a new plant from scratch.

Darling said a decision on new nuclear must be taken this year. He said no public money would go into new nuclear plants.

But there is no clear evidence that private sector finance will be on offer for an industry that sucks up capital at the outset and has no guaranteed return.

Major utility EDF Energy, whose parent company runs the fleet of reactors supplying some 80 per cent of France's electric power, has proposed a ''carbon hedge'' in which the government basically underwrites the price of carbon.

While new nuclear plants were by far the most controversial topic on Wednesday they were not the only one.

The Energy White Paper promotes the search for carbon capture and storage - a potential huge money spinner in exports to countries such as China and India with large coal supplies and booming energy demand.

It also wants energy saving by businesses, calls for more investment in renewable technologies such as wind and waves, back an extension of trading in carbon emission permits, urges greater energy efficiency and supports micro-generation such as rooftop solar panels and wind turbines.

REUTERS DS BST1853