Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Luxemburg, France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway and Belgium agreed to coordinate investments and project development plans to roll out the offshore wind power grid across the North Sea, the Channel, Celtic Sea and Irish Sea.

FORBES: Offshore Wind Race Accelerates Across Atlantic

The material was used in a nuclear power experiment at Dounreay later abandoned following the discovery of oil and gas in the North Sea.

BBC: ?30m to take Dounreay material by rail to Cumbria

The Brits went over to gas-fired power stations about 10, 15 years ago in a big way, gas from the North Sea, natural gas.

NPR: Britons React to Bush-Blair Summit

Impressed by arguments that nuclear energy is a proven source of low-carbon power, and worried about the dependence on foreign fossil fuels caused by the decline of North Sea oil and gas, the government has been preparing the ground for a nuclear revival.

ECONOMIST: Nuclear power draws nearer as renewables retreat