Has nuclear energy reinvented itself as the ultimate sustainable solution? Ewen Rose finds industry opinion divided on how we should plug our widening energy gap. Gas and oil prices are now on an inexorable upward climb. Gas rose by 9% worldwide in the first quarter of this year and oil also reached a record high close to USD60 a barrel earlier this summer. Shell and BP warn that the price is unlikely to fall back below USD40 a barrel for at least the next 20 years as demand continues to intensify. Current global consumption of oil is about 85 million barrels per day, but that is forecast to rise to over 125 million in the next 10 years. This is clearly not sustainable, particularly as the world's largest oil fields in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere are beginning to run dry. Not to mention the climate impact of burning all that fossil fuel. We have enjoyed many years of low prices in the UK thanks to our North Sea supplies and the liberalised market, but dwindling reserves and growing reliance on gas imported from Russia and Algeria mean our market is changing permanently. Meanwhile, according to research carried out by Oxford University the country is facing a power gap of 2,000 megawatts (40% of our total needs) by 2020 when our nuclear and coal-fired power stations are shut down.
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