Nuclear decision is 'urgent', says Darling

The need to make a decision over replacing Britain's nuclear power stations is "urgent", according to Alistair Darling.

The trade and industry secretary was speaking ahead of Wednesday's white paper, which is widely expected to back a new generation of nuclear plants alongside efforts to tackle climate change.

"The big issue is whether we rule out nuclear power as an option in the future," he told the Independent.

"That's what we will be consulting on. We face two big and urgent challenges - climate change and ensuring we have secure supplies of energy.

"The decisions are urgent: at the moment we get about 20 per cent of our electricity from nuclear power and these power stations will be decommissioned over the next 20 years."

He added that the stations would have to be replaced, arguing: "If you rule out nuclear the chances are that they will be replaced by gas which is not green and has to be imported from sometimes unstable parts of the world."

Accepting the need to reduce demand and improve efficiency, he stressed the importance of increasing renewables. "But does it make sense to exclude nuclear which is a low carbon source?" he added.

On the issue of nuclear waste from the power stations, the minister acknowledged there were "quite proper concerns".

But he insisted there had been "significant progress on this", saying: "We now have technical solutions for waste disposal that could accommodate all types from existing and new nuclear power stations.

"The forthcoming consultation will give people the opportunity to discuss the ethical issues."

Tony Blair firmly backs replacing Britain's power stations, and the Observer reported on Sunday that Gordon Brown will also support the plans when he takes over as prime minister.