<P> While nuclear power does not produce significant carbon dioxide in generation (though the construction, mining, waste handling and disposal, and decommissioning do generate some carbon emissions), it raises other environmental and security concerns . Despite this, it has enormous potential for generating electricity, when it is taken into consideration that uranium could last up to a hundred years . However, even with changes to the planning system to speed applications, there are doubts over whether the necessary timescale could be met, and over the financial viability of nuclear power with present oil and gas prices . With no nuclear plants having been constructed since Sizewell B in 1995, there are also likely to be capacity issues within the native nuclear industry . The existing privatised nuclear supplier, British Energy, had been in financial trouble in 2004 . </P> <P> In October 2010 the coalition British Government gave the go - ahead for the construction of up to eight new nuclear power plants . However, the Scottish Government, with the backing of the Scottish Parliament, has stated that no new nuclear power stations will be constructed in Scotland . In March 2012, E. ON UK and RWE npower announced they would be pulling out of developing new nuclear power plants, placing the future of nuclear power in the United Kingdom in doubt . </P> <P> There was an 11% increase in the use of nuclear power in 2011, which helped to bring greenhouse gas emissions down 7% on the previous year . </P> <P> In 2007, the United Kingdom Government agreed to an overall European Union target of generating 20% of the European Union's energy supply from renewable sources by 2020 . Each European Union member state was given its own allocated target; for the United Kingdom it is 15% . This was formalised in January 2009 with the passage of the EU Renewables Directive . As renewable heat and fuel production in the United Kingdom are at extremely low bases, RenewableUK estimates that this will require 35--40% of the United Kingdom's electricity to be generated from renewable sources by that date, to be met largely by 33--35 GW of installed wind capacity . </P>

Where does british gas get its electricity from