nuclear-news

Britain’s dream of nuclear power renaissance is collapsing

Bloomberg 12th Jan 2019 In 2006, Tony Blair told Britain’s biggest business lobby that the
country needed a new generation of nuclear reactors or risked becoming
dependent on imported fossil fuels while missing commitments to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions. “….. the then prime minister said in a speech at
Confederation of British Industry’s annual dinner.

Almost 13 years later, just one plant is under construction — the Hinkley Point project being
built by France’s state power company in southwest England. There’s
increasing doubt any more reactors will follow. Reports on Friday said
Japan’s Hitachi Ltd. has decided to halt work on the Wylfa project in
North Wales.

That  follows Toshiba Corp.’s decision in November to
abandon a plant in northwest England. “The U.K. nuclear renaissance is a
zombie,” said Laurent Segalen, a managing partner at Megawatt-X in
London, who advises on financing wind and solar projects. The unraveling of
Blair’s energy blueprint, endorsed by all his successors, will leave
Britain short of electrons in the decades ahead as existing reactors built
in the 1970s reach the end of their lives. The new Wylfa plant alone was
designed to supply about 7 percent of the U.K.’s energy demand. Two types
of energy will likely fill most of the gap: natural gas and offshore wind.
Both come with challenges.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-12/britain-s-failing-nuclear-plan-poses-huge-question-for-power

January 14, 2019 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general