British nuclear power policies

By the late seventies nuclear power had become both a major and a highly controversial element in British energy policy. The process by which this situation had been reached is naturally of considerable historical interest, especially for the light which it throws on the making and implementing of public policy, but it is also of great significance because of its implications for the future of nuclear energy in this country. The aim of this chapter is to identify the main issues in the development of British nuclear power to date, the better to assess what may be the main issues in the years immediately ahead. Sections are headed: military origins; creation of the UKAEA; technical dithering; AGR versus LWR; competition with coal; construction difficulties; selection of the SGHWR; support for the PWR; the Sizewell enquiry; the anti-nuclear movement; international competition; domestic orientation; inflexibility; public accountability; the safety record; the context of overall energy policy. (author)