ENERGY gap, what energy gap? According to the conservation group WWF-UK, it鈥檚 nothing more than a myth created to justify building a new generation of nuclear power stations.
A report into energy generation commissioned by WWF from the firm ILEX Energy Consulting concludes that the UK can meet its future energy needs and reduce carbon dioxide emissions without the help of nuclear power.
The report finds that some tweaks of energy policy would allow the UK to cut CO2 emissions by 40 per cent from 1990 levels by 2010, and maintain them at this level until 2025. That鈥檚 despite almost all nuclear power stations being closed during this time. Increased use of renewable energy coupled with reductions in energy waste would allow emissions to fall by 55 per cent by 2025, the report says.
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The UK鈥檚 Nuclear Industry Association challenges this view. 鈥淲e need to use all the tools at our disposal to reduce emissions, including renewables, energy efficiency and nuclear,鈥� says a spokesman. 鈥淲e should not limit our ambitions, as WWF seem to be doing.鈥�
