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UK’s Energy Secretary Amber Rudd plans prioritising nuclear, slashing renewables

U.K. Plans to Prioritise Nuclear, Gas Over Renewables to Cut CO2, Bloomberg, Alex Morales, 18 Nov 15  “………“In the next 10 years, it’s imperative that we get new gas-fired power stations built,” Energy Secretary Amber Rudd will say. “There are plans for a new fleet of nuclear power stations, including at Wylfa and Moorside. This huge investment could provide up to 30 percent of the low carbon electricity which we’re likely to need through the 2030s.”

The emphasis on nuclear and gas signals a further retreat from renewable energy after Rudd slashed several subsidy programs, arguing they risk exceeding Treasury spending limits. Renewables have taken a battering since Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservatives came to power in May, with ministers announcing planned cuts to programs subsidizing solar power, onshore wind, biomass and energy efficiency.

The government has given the green light for the first new nuclear plant to be built in three decades, subsidized by consumers through their bills for 35 years. Electricite de France SA and China General Nuclear Power Corp. struck a deal last month to build by 2025 the 3.2 gigawatt-plant at Hinkley Point in southwest England.

November 18, 2015 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general