Ever since the government started ranting about the joy of new nuclear power stations, a central plank of their shaky argument has been that the billions required will be covered by industry and not the taxpayer. But despite these bold claims, legislation and loopholes have been carefully engineered so that public money will inevitably subsidise the industry. Hardly surprising, given there hasn't been a single civil nuclear project that hasn't required huge sums of public dosh.

British Energy, the UK's biggest nuclear operator, has just published a report (pdf) they claim shows that new nuclear reactors in the UK could be protected from flooding and sea-level rise caused by climate change. They concluded "that all our sites can be sustained over the next 100 years." But their report doesn't cut the mustard.