nuclear-news

Even George Monbiot condemns UK government’s new nuclear power plan

The farce of the Hinkley C nuclear reactor will haunt Britain for decades  The Guardian, George Monbiot, Monday 21 October 2013 “………… the government has plumped for outdated technology at the worst price imaginable “…..Nils Pratley warned in the Guardian last week that “if Hinkley Point’s entire output is tied to the rate of inflation for 40 years, we could be staring at a truly astronomical cost by the end of the contract.” The City analyst he consulted reassured him that “the government surely can’t be that dumb”. Oh yes? Payment to the operators, the government now tells us, will be “fully indexed to the consumer prices index”. Guaranteed income for corporations, risk assumed by the taxpayer: this deal looks as bad as any private finance initiative contract.

That’s not the only respect in which the price is too high. A fundamental principle of all development is that we should know how the story ends. In this case no one has the faintest idea. Cumbria – the only local authority which seemed prepared to accept a dump for the nuclear waste from past and future schemes – rejected the proposal in January. No one should commission a mess without a plan for clearing it up….

October 25, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, UK