EDINBURGH, Scotland, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- The British government has "misguided enthusiasm" for nuclear power after striking a deal with French and Chinese companies, the Scottish government said.
French utility company EDF and its Chinese partners are to build a new nuclear power station near the western British coast. The facility will represent the first nuclear power station built in the country since the 1990s.
Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said in a statement the British government was moving in the wrong direction in terms of its electricity choices.
"This U.K. government's misguided enthusiasm for nuclear comes at a time when other countries, such as Germany and EDF's home nation France, are either eliminating or scaling back their dependence on nuclear generation and when we should be putting the support to our renewables energy industry and the jobs it will support across the country," he said Monday.
British Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey said the facility would cut British CO2 emissions by the equivalent of 5 percent while meeting the electricity demands of 6 million people.
The Scottish government set a goal of generating 100 percent of its electricity from renewable resources by 2020. Scotland next year holds a referendum for independence from Great Britain.
