nuclear-news

Caroline Lucas: Backing Wylfa Nuclear Power Station Is The Wrong Move At The Wrong Time

Huffington Post 5th June 2018,   Behind its shiny green veneer, this government has overseen
the funding stream for clean energy fall to its lowest levels in a decade.

The context for this public payout for new nuclear is an energy market
that’s making it blindingly obvious that renewables are the future. Solar
and wind are now the cheapest forms of new electricity generation, and new
technology means that power from the sun, sea and wind, balanced with
batteries and interconnection, are able to be the backbone of British
energy in the future.

Onshore wind – which the Government has all but
banned – could have a strike price a whopping £37.50 lower than Wylfa’s.
The frequent retort to those of us who oppose nuclear is centred on the
need for ‘baseload’ power – but such arguments are increasingly weak.

We know that battery technology is coming on leaps and bounds – and even
the ex-head of National Grid, Steve Holliday, has said that “the idea of
large power stations for baseload is outdated”, and noted that “from a
consumer’s point of view, the solar on the rooftop is going to be the
baseload”.

But it’s not just the government’s skewed financial
priorities that make Wylfa the wrong move at the wrong time. At the heart
of the problems with nuclear energy is the stark fact that there is still
no solution to the nuclear waste problem.
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/wylfa_uk_5b164eafe4b093ac33a17a41

June 8, 2018 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | ENERGY, UK