nuclear-news

UK’s new nuclear power – a bad financial gamble

‘New generation’: The UK bets on a nuclear future, DW,  Emma Wallis, 21 Oct 

“….…Hidden costs  Pete Roche works at “Spinwatch”, an organization that aims to highlight the true meaning behind government PR, or “spin.” Roche’s area of expertise is “Nuclear Spin.”

The UK government, he believes, “thinks they need [nuclear power] because there are an awful lot of coal fired stations due to close over the next few years, and the gas from the North Sea is also reducing.”

He also feels that consumers are not being told the true cost of nuclear energy. “At the beginning of all this we were told that nuclear is the cheapest for providing low-carbon electricity,” something he says is not necessarily true.

Price comparisons

By comparison, offshore wind costs 130 British pounds per megawatt, a figure that might drop to 100 by 2030. Although on the government press release for Hinkley Point, they estimate that Hinkley Point on 430 acres will be able to generate 26 terrawatt hours of electricity, compared to 130,000 acres of solar farms needed and 250,000 acres of onshore wind farms.

Roche told DW that Germany is “showing us the way,” clearly wishing that the UK had also decided after Fukushima to phase out its nuclear power, not increase them.

“The first difference that I like to highlight between Germany and the UK is that Germany expects to reduce energy consumption by about 20 percent, I think. And the UK is expecting our energy consumption to increase. If we went for the kinds of reduction in consumption that Germany is going for, it would be much easier to implement a renewable energy strategy.”…..http://www.dw.de/new-generation-the-uk-bets-on-a-nuclear-future/a-17171536

October 25, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, UK