MEP visit
to the Radley Lakes
[posted
04/03/2007]
On
Friday, 2nd March, Dr Caroline Lucas, the Green's
Member of the European Parliament for the southeast,
visited the Radley Lakes to witness the appalling
destruction being wreaked on the once beautiful Thrupp
Lake by RWE npower.
Dr
Caroline Lucas MEP, photographed at the Radley Lakes
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Caroline
Lucas, said that RWE npower's plans wouldn’t just
destroy Radley lakes – but it would fuel climate
change too.
Speaking before the visit, Dr Lucas said:
“Didcot A power station is one of the largest
and dirtiest power stations in the UK. It emits about
1% of the country's total greenhouse gas emissions.
It now intends to dispose of the ash by filling one
of Oxfordshire's best loved lakes. This would be deeply
unfortunate in any circumstances, but it is made worse
by RWE npower's failure to properly examine alternatives.
“Technologies now exist for productively using
power station ash as a replacement for bricks and cement.
Scottish and Southern, one of the UK's other major electricity
suppliers, has recently announced it will use convert
all the ash from the Fiddler's Ferry power station in
Cheshire into useful material for the construction industry
and other uses. Why can't RWE npower do the same?
“The cement industry is one of the largest greenhouse
gas producers in the UK. So if RWE npower used the ash
for cement, rather than tipped into lakes, it would
avoid huge amounts of carbon emissions. We calculate
that npower could cut emissions by 250,000 tonnes a
year by properly using this material. This is equivalent
to savings from constructing 100 large wind turbines.”
Local Green Party candidate, Chris Goodall, who organised
the site visit by the MEP, added: 'RWE in Germany has
got the message – climate change is happening,
and power producers are need to take action to cut their
emissions. Here in the UK, its local subsidiary continues
with its old ways, brutally destroying the local environment
and ignoring the clear opportunity to recycle the ash
productively.'
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