The motion, adopted at conference, removes a “blanket opposition to nuclear fission” and instead commits the Green party of England and Wales to assessing nuclear projects alongside other low-carbon technologies.
Its electricity generation policy still prioritises offshore wind, onshore wind and rooftop solar as the primary sources of electricity, but allows elected representatives to support new nuclear reactors on a case-by-case basis.
This was one or the few areas I didn’t align with the Green Party before, as I believe that a bit of nuclear is kind of necessary to help round out less consistent energy sources as things stand. I think this is a reasonable stance.
That makes sense. Once nuclear is built, using it is a no-brainer: you’ve already paid for it, so saying no to energy produced at the costs of a few truckloads of fuel a year is purity politics at its most asinine. Building new nuclear plants, with their high capital costs and long lead times, is another question altogether.