Britain, France: Use nuclear to offset oil prices

[Energy Daily, 27 May; BBC, 28 May] The prime ministers of Britain and France have both called for increases in nuclear power generation as a response to record oil prices. While speaking to the oil industry near Aberdeen, UK prime minister Gordon Brown said it was time to be "more ambitious" for nuclear, adding that no artificial limit would be set on the amount of nuclear energy, or any other low-carbon source, the country could use. "We will have to do more than simply replace existing nuclear capability in Britain," he said, hinting that new nuclear generation sites could be established in future. Across the channel in France, prime minister François Fillon said: "We must continue to develop France's nuclear program because that was the right response in 1970 and it remains the right reponse" to high energy costs. Both countries have faced protests in recent days over the cost of transport fuels. In deregulated markets, electricity prices are also linked to oil prices through the use of natural gas. Fillon concluded: "We are not dealing with a crisis, we are dealing with a long-term increase of the price of oil."