David Delaney circulated this article this morning.
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Public Opposition to U.K. Nuclear Power Falls as Prices Soar
April 18 (Bloomberg) — The U.K. public's support for nuclear power has increased as energy prices soar, with almost half of Britons saying they're not prepared to pay a premium for electricity from renewable sources, a study said.
About 36 percent of Britons want to see an increase in nuclear capacity, compared with 29 percent one year ago, according to a study by KPMG International and YouGov Plc. About 45 percent of the survey respondents said they want a reduction in nuclear power, less than the 58 percent last year.
The U.K. government said it will decide by June whether a new generation of nuclear power plants should be built. Atomic power plants, such as British Energy Group Plc's Sizewell, produce about a fifth of Britain's electricity.
Renewable energy, which produces about 4 percent of the power consumed, is more expensive than nuclear power because it needs a back-up system to function when the resources, such as wind or the sun, aren't available.
“The impact of recent energy price rises is evidently having an effect as people remain largely supportive of renewable power but not necessarily at any price,'' the survey said.
About 44 percent of the survey respondents said they weren't prepared to pay “a single penny more for green energy,'' the report said.
U.K. power prices doubled last year after an increase in the cost of fossil fuels, such as oil, coal and natural gas.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Elena Moya in London at moya@bloomberg.net
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