4 Grammar

Future Tenses, to be going to

4.1. Fill in the gaps using the Future Simple Tense or the construction to be going to. Nuclear power: Energy for the future or relic of the past? New nuclear

According to the World Nuclear Association, there are 70 nuclear reactors under construction, "the highest number in 25 years". There are a further 500 proposed plants - far more than are operating in the world today.

Of course a many of them (1) never … (see) the light of day, but these figures show clearly that governments across the world are looking to nuclear power to meet growing energy demand and increase energy security while reducing the CO2 emissions linked with global warming.

China is building 27 new reactors and (2) … (build) almost 200 more. The reason is simple - demand for energy (3) … (triple) by 2050, so China needs all the power it can get.

A number of countries in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, are also (4) … (build) nuclear reactors, facilitated by strong authoritarian regimes.

Many states in central and Eastern Europe are also (5) … (increase) their nuclear capacity, including Hungary, Romania and Ukraine, while Poland and Turkey (6) … (enter) the nuclear age for the first time.

Nuclear free zone: Germany

The German government took the decision to phase out nuclear power in 2000, setting a date of 2022 for the final reactor shutdown. The ruling was driven by the Greens but it now enjoys cross-party support, so there (7) … (be) no policy change, according to the German Institute for Economic Research.

The government (8) … (make) up the shortfall in power as a result of shutting off nuclear primarily with renewable energy. This, together with gas-fired power plants, (9) … (be able to) supply the country's energy needs, it believes.

Inherent risks

Of course, finance is not the only risk associated with nuclear power. The Fukushima disaster is a timely reminder, coming 25 years after Chernobyl, of the inherent dangers involved in harnessing nuclear power. Technological advances have made nuclear fission safer, but the risk of a reactor leak (11) never … (discount) completely.

4.2. Tenses Revision.

Choose the correct variant.

After years of negotiations with various energy groups, the UK government finally ( manages, managed, had managed)to convince EDF to invest, but only after it (guaranteed, had guaranteed, will guarantee) the company a set price for the electricity the plant produces, even if this (is, will be, was) higher than the open market price at the time. Even then, EDF only committed once it (secured, have secured, had secured) Chinese backing. And even now final investment decisions have not been submitted.

And the UK is not alone. In France, the Flamanville plant, the first in the country for 15 years, (will be, is, was) already three years late and way over budget, while Finland's new reactor (is, will be, was) also well overdue and (has cost, cost, had cost) billions more than expected.

In the US, billions of dollars of government loan guarantees (was, are, were) needed to fund new power plants, with all five already suffering significant delays. Here, the government (was also working, were also working, is also working) closely with the industry to develop smaller, modular reactors designed to be more flexible and cost significantly less than traditional designs.

Fukushima (has also drawn, had also drawn, will also drawn) attention away from nuclear waste. To this day there (remained, remains, will remain) no permanent facility for storing spent radioactive fuel anywhere in the world.

If the industry (could, would, will) find a final solution to storing waste, it (will increase, would increase, increased) public acceptance of nuclear power.

But such a solution is unlikely any time soon - sites have been identified in Sweden and Finland, but they (will open, would be opened, will be opened) only in "the next decade or two.

Environmentalists (argue, argues, had argued) that given the risks and financial costs involved, investing in renewables (was, is , will be) the more sensible option.