Double glazing is a better bet than nuclear to solve UK supply shock Business

In the past, the Treasury has opposed efficiency efforts on the grounds that the industry would struggle to muster the necessary labor and supplies. Well, sorry, but if you trust industry to build eight nuclear reactors in record time, you can certainly trust industry to fill the nation’s wall cavities.

The inability of successive governments to cultivate this country’s know-how in the field of nuclear energy, an area in which we dominated the world, is certainly one of the worst political failures of the last half-century. It is good that this government is committed to reversing years of atrophy.

But could it now be in danger of overcorrection? The National Infrastructure Commission estimates that two large new reactors would be sufficient to provide the UK with sufficiently reliable baseload power and meet its net zero targets.

One of Boris Johnson’s dominant passions is for impressive infrastructure – whether it’s floating islands, bridges spanning the ocean or mega-tunnels. There are few civil engineering projects more impressive than a nuclear power plant. Hinkley Point – the location where the Prime Minister launched the energy strategy this week – can be seen from space.

But, for now, the government is allowing its infatuation with monster projects to blind it to reasonably close at hand fruit. He must learn to appreciate the quiet grandeur of a double-glazed PVC unit and the understated beauty of a well-offset water tank.