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UK govt’s underhand way of subsidising nuclear power

Huhne, it seems, may have ruled out using the public purse to fund the new nuclear generation, but his Government is asking us to use our wallets to do the same.

The Government has found a backhanded way to subsidise nuclear power The Ecologist, Dan Box, 24th May, 2010 21st century nuclear power needs a 21st century subsidy… no blank cheques this time – just an apparently green tweak to the emissions trading system, and voila!What is it they say? Power corrupts? Well, certainly people change.
Take energy secretary Chris Huhne, who from opposition railed against building new nuclear power stations…………
How so, exactly? Huhne is still refusing to commit any Government money to subsidise the construction of these notoriously expensive plants. The answer lies in one, under-reported, commitment from our new Government; to set a floor-price for carbon……………….
………..Driving up the cost of producing polluting energy from coal- or gas-fired power plants, doesn’t just favour renewables. It also makes the costs of nuclear production far more competitive, even without subsidy. Plus, of course, those companies looking to build new nukes are the same ones currently providing our electricity, and who can pass on to their customers the extra cost of the floor-price through energy bills, paid for by you and me. Huhne, it seems, may have ruled out using the public purse to fund the new nuclear generation, but his Government is asking us to use our wallets to do the same. Blogs and Comments – Comments – Dan Box – The Government has found a backhanded way to subsidise nuclear power – The Ecologist

May 25, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes