Eric Ollerenshaw
Main Page: Eric Ollerenshaw (Conservative - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Chris Huhne
No, the hon. Gentleman is wrong on that. We are setting out a framework to discourage high-carbon activities and encourage low-carbon activities. We do not make any technological judgment about how those particular things proceed. The hon. Gentleman is right that Germany, Italy and Japan have all announced either moratoriums or pauses for new nuclear construction. However, it would be wrong to jump to the conclusion that costs will necessarily increase in those circumstances, because obviously if there is less demand for some of the components in nuclear power stations, the normal economics would tell us that their price might fall, so the process might become cheaper. However, I can assure him that we will bear safety in mind first and foremost. That is what I asked Mike Weightman to address, and that is what he has answered in the interim report and will answer in the final report.
Eric Ollerenshaw (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Con)
I wonder whether the Secretary of State is aware that there has been a proposal in my constituency for a tidal barrage for the last 20 years. Is there anything in the proposals that will finally allow such developments to compete on a level playing field with proposals for wind?
Chris Huhne
That is one of the technologies that we are taking forward in the renewables road map, and I want to make progress on it. We have a considerable resource in that technology, which we want to develop further right the way around the United Kingdom’s sea frontier.