nuclear-news

Hinkley nuclear power plant irrelevant to UK’s energy problems

UK nuclear power plant contract: £80bn deal or no deal? Fiona Harvey and Patrick WintourThe Guardian, Monday 21 October 2013  “……..John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace UK, said: “Hinkley C fails every test – economic, consumer and environmental. It will lock a generation of consumers into higher energy bills via a strike price that’s nearly double the current price of electricity, and it will distort energy policy by displacing newer, cleaner technologies that are dropping dramatically in price.”

Nina Skorupska, chief executive of the Renewable Energy Association, said the nuclear deal would not solve the short-term problem of keeping the lights on as current nuclear and many coal-fired power stations were expected to shut down in the next few years, long before Hinkley C started operating.

“[It] is a major development for the UK energy mix, but does nothing to address the looming capacity crunch. Hinkley will still be a construction site when old coal and nuclear capacity is shut down,” she said…..http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/oct/21/uk-nuclear-power-plant-contract-deal-no-deal

October 26, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, UK