The Sustainable Development Commission, the government’s advisory body on sustainable development issues, released a report yesterday that says nuclear power is not the answer to the UK’s energy security and climate change problems.
Read more on SD Commission says ‘no’ to nuclear…
In my recent interviews on the PV industry in the UK, it became clear that the “government” could refer to any number of departments. For industry though, government is widely taken to be unified actor capable of taking almost any action once the appropriate decision is made. Respondents therefore concluded that poor progress on microgeneration can be blamed largely on a lack of committment in Whitehall.
Read more on Joined-up government?…
There were some interesting articles on the nuclear debate in today’s Observer for those who are interested:
- Grasping the nuclear nettle by the Energy Minister, Malcolm Wicks, gives the basic government position saying that it’s time to revisit civil nuclear but the forthcoming review will be open-minded – “The answer could be yes. But it could be no.”
Read more on Nuclear debate in the Observer…
Also posted in Technology |
I’ve recently been conducting some telephone interviews for my research, talking with representatives from across the microgeneration industry. The general outlook was pretty positive but one respondent said he was nervous that microgeneration might get lost in the shuffle once everyone gets “totally sidetracked by this nuclear debate”. Talk about timing – that same week the BBC was packed with stories about the UK’s future energy supply gap, the roots of the problem, and most controversially rumours that Blair is `convinced’ on nuclear.
Read more on On the N-word and double standards…
Also posted in Technology |
I spent quite a bit of time this afternoon reading the various responses to the Government’s recent consultation on microgeneration and the Low Carbon Buildings Programme (LCBP). The proposals haven’t exactly been given a warm welcome and there are lots of comments like “we have serious concerns about x” and “we urge the DTI to reconsider y“.
Read more on Funding for LCBP announced…
One of the things I find pleasantly surprising in the UK is how open government is when it develops policy. There are always green papers, consultation documents, select committee meetings and other chances to have your say. I haven’t yet figured out how much they change their plans in response to this feedback but it’s nice that they at least go through the motions.
Read more on What’s your two cents? Or rather pence…
