\n The group of academics includes Amory Lovins and Professor Mark Jacobsen, from the University of Stanford, Professor Stephen Thomas, from the University of Greenwich, and Dr Paul Dorfman, Bennett Scholar at the University of Sussex.\n<\/p>\n
\n In a joint statement, published in The National, they say that Ed Miliband\u2019s plans to assess Scottish sites for nuclear projects and Keir Starmer<\/a>\u2019s plans to usher in a \u201cgolden age of nuclear\u201d with Donald Trump<\/a> are hampered by a \u201cfew awkward facts\u201d.\n<\/p>\n \n They said: \u201cThe reason is simple. Nuclear costs are huge, rising, and significant delays are the norm.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cThe result is that nuclear power faces the same fundamental challenges as fossil fuels – uncompetitive costs, stranded assets, a polluting legacy, and unrivaled competition from renewables.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n \n They also criticised the Prime Minister\u2019s claim that regulation has hampered the nuclear industry in the UK.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cWhilst blaming regulators for things going wrong has always been a fallback excuse for the nuclear industry, the worrying thing is that for the first time it\u2019s governments that are backing the nuclear industry against their appointed regulatory bodies, with the UK and the US leading the way,\u201d they said.\n<\/p>\n \n They argue that the evidence does not support claims that regulations have led to huge delays. Instead, they point to the evolution of renewables as proving \u201creal hope\u201d, as costs are falling, whereas they are rising for nuclear projects.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cIn terms of cost, time, and do-ability, it’s renewable expansion in all sectors, energy efficiency and management, rapidly advancing storage technologies, grid modernisation, interconnection, and market innovation from supply to service provision that will power the energy transition,\u201d they added.\n<\/p>\n(Image: Chris Furlong\/PA)\n<\/p>\n