COSTS AND SUSTAINABILITY

Nuclear power cannot exist without huge public subsidy.

British Energy, the UK´s only private nuclear operator, avoided bankruptcy in 2003 via a multimillion pound Government loan and a public bailout package worth £4bn.

The £56 billion of taxpayers´ money being used to fund the clean up of the UK´s current nuclear sites (run by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority) could instead buy 50 GW of installed wind capacity, equivalent to 20% of the UK´s electricity needs. (Greenpeace)

The capital costs of building nuclear power stations are colossal, and when these costs escalate it will almost certainly be massively subsidised by the British taxpayer.

Even if the UK replaced all 23 of its reactors, we would only save 10% of our carbon dioxide emissions. This is not good value for money. (Greenpeace)

Uranium, the essential ingredient to nuclear power, is not in infinite supply and therefore nuclear power is not a sustainable option.

Most critically, given that world supplies of uranium are finite, a new build reactor programme on a global scale would quickly leave us in the same predicament we´re currently in with fossil fuels. (Greenpeace)

It´s not sustainable. The reserves of uranium ores used to generate nuclear power are going to run out. There are only 50 years' worth of high uranium ores left in the world. There may be only 200 years left of all uranium ores including poor uranium ores which take more energy to mine and process and thus release more carbon emissions. (CND)