• Question: why do we need a nuclear power station in the UK?

    Asked by ruth to Usaid, Becky, Carrie, Kelly, Robin on 14 Mar 2012. This question was also asked by holly13.
    • Photo: Usaid Rauf

      Usaid Rauf answered on 13 Mar 2012:

      To match demand.

      The demand for power is huge and will only increase. People will always use more and more energy.

      Over the next 5-10 years a lot of the UK’s power stations will be shutting down, leaving a big gap in electricity supply. This gap could be filled by gas power stations, but nearly half of our gas is imported. It could be filled by renewable power sources, but one example such as wind is unreliable in the UK.

      Nuclear offers the capability to match power demand and deliver it reliably, with a tiny carbon footprint.

      However, I don’t believe that nuclear power is the magic answer; the UK will need a diverse energy mix from different kinds of electricity generation.

      Check out this link for a balanced view on the UK’s energy future: http://www.edfenergy.com/energyfuture/

    • Photo: Becky Selwyn

      Becky Selwyn answered on 14 Mar 2012:

      I just wanted to add a little to what Usaid has said.

      Being able to produce our own electricity is important to the country so that nobody can suddenly decide to stop supplying us with imported energy and cause a big problem with our supply, so we need power stations of some sort in the UK.

      It is also very important that we don’t produce too much carbon dioxide by burning lots of fossil fuels, so nuclear is a better choice than fossil fuel power stations.

      We can also get a lot of power from quite a small nuclear power station when you compare it to how many wind turbines (for example) we would need to produce the same power. So as well as nuclear being more reliable, we can’t fit enough wind turbines (or other renewable resources) in the country to satisfy our needs anyway!

    • Photo: Robin Stafford Allen

      Robin Stafford Allen answered on 14 Mar 2012:

      Short answer is YES, The whole world needs them, and we are trying to develop the Fusion power station that overcomes the problems of the type we have not largely.

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