Oral answer to question provided on Thursday, 28 June 2007 in the House of Lords, by Lord Truscott (Labour).

Environment: Nuclear Power Stations

Answer: My Lords, the assessment of the amount of carbon generated from nuclear power plants is based on calculations that the DTI has made. We have also taken expert advice on this from a number of sources: for example, the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Sustainable Development Commission. As I said, in terms of carbon emissions, we assess nuclear to be a low-carbon form of energy. The amount of CO2 emissions generated during the whole lifecycle, including the mining of the uranium which goes into nuclear production, is about as much as that generated by wind energy, and that is an undoubted fact.

This is an answer to the Oral question asked on Thursday, 28 June 2007 by Lord Redesdale (Liberal Democrat).

Question: My Lords, the Minister has just said that carbon emissions from nuclear power stations are the same as from wind turbines. How can that assertion stand up, because the department has never undertaken a carbon lifecycle study of any nuclear plant? As we are running out of high-grade uranium quite quickly, can the noble Lord say whether any work has been done on the carbon value of low-grade uranium?

Secondary information