The nuclear power industry comes to Yorkshire
This week we have discussed the future of power generation in Yorkshire and across the UK, featuring renewables and coal. The other major sector that will see expansion as the government drives forward its low carbon energy policy is nuclear. Up until yesterday, Yorkshire didn't feature, but an announcement by Lord Mandelson has now put this region at the centre of Britain's drive for nuclear power.
As part of the package The Advanced Manufacturing Park in Rotherham has been chosen as the base for the UK's new £25m Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (NAMRC).The NAMRC will provide a focal point for the bulk of the UK civil nuclear manufacturing industry supply chain, ensuring that manufacturers in the UK have the capability and capacity required to compete for nuclear new build in the UK and globally, from skills training to research and development.
It was also announced that Rolls-Royce's planned civil nuclear facility will also be developed in South Yorkshire. The facility will manufacture, assemble and test high quality components that are essential to meet the requirements of the planned new civil nuclear power plants across the UK, worth in excess of £1bn a year.
Nuclear power is a popular concept when it comes to finding solutions to tackle global warming because there are no carbon emissions in the electricity generating process. The January 2008 white paper on nuclear power sets out the government's view that nuclear power is low carbon, affordable, dependable and safe. And supporters look at France, a world leader in nuclear power, where nearly ¾ of all electricity comes from their nuclear facilities, and where there have been no major safety incidents.
But critics say although there are no carbon emissions from the electricity generation itself, there is a carbon footprint in the mining and transportation of uranium. It is also more expensive electricity than that produced by gas or coal.
And Greenpeace points out that the reality is that a new generation of nuclear reactors simply won't deliver the urgent emissions cuts needed to tackle climate change.
According to them even the most optimistic estimates suggest that a new generation of nuclear power stations will only reduce our emissions by four per cent by 2024: far too little, far too late, they say to stop global warming or address the predicted energy gap.
Instead, they continue, a new generation of reactors will create tens of thousands of tonnes of the most hazardous radioactive waste, which remains dangerous for up to a million years and establish new targets for terrorists.
But despite these reservations an increased role for nuclear power now seems a done deal. The way we generate electricity is likely to change considerably in the years to come; it will be much more expensive too. And that means our electricity bills are likely to rise sharply as a consequence.
But for those scientists who believe that man is largely to blame for rises in global temperatures, it's a price worth paying in order to avert damaging climate change.
Hello, I’m Paul Hudson, weather presenter and climate correspondent for BBC Look North in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. I've been interested in the weather and climate for as long as I can remember, and worked as a forecaster with the Met Office for more than ten years locally and at the international unit before joining the BBC in October 2007. Here I divide my time between forecasting and reporting on stories about climate change and its implications for people's everyday lives. 
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