Should we go nuclear?

YES

Prof Adrian Bull University of Manchester

DESPITE the recent news focus on Covid and the Ukraine invasion, climate change has not gone away.

Britain is committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050, and we need all the tools in the energy toolbox to stand any chance at all.

Nuclear gives us reliable, safe, low-carbon electricity 24/7 in the vast quantities we need to power homes, schools, hospitals, offices and industry.

Nothing else can do that in the UK. So we should invest rapidly in new nuclear. We can’t just rely on the massive reactors like Hinkley Point C though.

We need to innovate, which means smaller, cheaper, quicker-tobuild reactors.

The question isn’t, “Can we afford to have new nuclear?” If we are to secure energy supplies, we simply cannot afford not to.

NO

Paul Dorfman University of Sussex

FOR nuclear the key, like so many things, is cost.

Leading finance group Lazard says renewables like wind and solar power are less than a quarter of the cost of new nuclear. That’s quite a margin.

We’re in an energy crisis and need to do something quickly that’s good value. New nuclear takes 10 to 15 years from planning to operation, so can’t really help – and may be even too late for the climate problem.

But wind and solar power are growing at a record rate and renewables are also 10 times quicker to instal than new nuclear.

And nuclear is probably the last thing you want to back up renewables, as it’s not that good at powering up and down quickly.

Renewables and energy efficiency have huge job creation potential. With the best will in the world, nuclear just can’t compete. We can do better.