Energy chief urges Dutch government to use more nuclear power

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The head of the International Energy Agency urged the Dutch government Monday to expand its nuclear power base, but the country's environment minister said that's not in the energy equation for now. Nobuo Tanaka, the IEA executive director, said the Netherlands will find it tough to reach its target of slashing carbon emissions 30 percent below 1990 levels within the next dozen years without building more nuclear power stations. "The Netherlands now faces the challenge of making its ambitious aspirations a reality," he said. The Dutch have one 485-megawatt station at Borssele which was slated for closure in 2004. The government decided in 2002 to let the station complete its 40-year life span and to decommission it in 2013, but it has no plans to build another.