New Europe, new energy

Written by Andrew Duff MEP and published in East Anglian Daily Times on Tue 30th Jan 2001

Like most people on the beach in Aldeburgh or Southwold, I have watched Sizewell from afar over the years with some awe. Recently I arranged to see inside the nuclear power stations. Their sheer size, especially the Pressurised Water Reactor of Sizewell B, is indeed awesome. The main reason for my visits to Sizewell and Bradwell in Essex was to see how BNFL and British Energy are measuring up to the increased safety demands put upon the civil nuclear industry by the European Parliament. Too often MEPs legislate and quickly move on, leaving nobody - certainly not MPs at Westminster - to scrutinise the results of their handiwork.

My Sizewell visit set me thinking about how to harness the sea as a source of renewable energy. The PWR pumps seawater in and out to cool the nuclear reactor. But real efficiency will only be achieved once we harness the power of the tides to generate electricity. The European Union is funding a small pilot project in Scotland to investigate how feasible this technology might be. Let's hope it works. Sea power is much better than wind power, whose ugly windmills tend to mash up flocks of birds and make a terrible noise.

The sea energy experiment is a good example of the added value of Europe. Our job in Brussels is to lay down the regulations on safety and reliability which member states have to meet. Some of us are also fighting for the liberalisation of the energy supply markets which would lower costs and increase transparency of prices.

The nuclear industry, which today supplies just under half of Europe's energy, is in the forefront of our concerns, not because we fear a Chernobyl-type disaster in East Anglia, but because of the problem of reprocessing the spent fuel. Reprocessing has been an especially important industry for Britain. Its mismanagement has served to accentuate Britain's reputation as one of the dirtiest countries in the EU. The UK has set itself a target of achieving a mere 10% of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2010 compared to the EU average target of 22%. Britain's record is no better on energy conservation. We recycle very little of our household waste - 8% compared to 60% in the Netherlands. Every East Anglian local authority is now struggling under tight deadlines to meet higher EU norms on sustainable waste management.

The nuclear industry agrees that those who pollute the planet should pay the price. That means that the cost of clearing up and storing nuclear waste should fall on the industry, just as the cost of emitting toxic gases should fall on the non-nuclear sector. In the end, we all pay the price of increasing energy consumption. The European Parliament is there to represent our interests both as citizens and consumers.