nuclear-news

Germany caves in to French demands for government subsidies to the nuclear industry in the EU electricity market

Germany has given leeway for France to use state subsidies to fund its
nuclear power plants, unblocking a long-stalled reform of the EU
electricity market in the face of vast state aid regimes in China and the
US.

The agreement reached on Tuesday among energy ministers in Luxembourg
will mean that France could use government support to finance its largely
state-owned nuclear plants, which generate about 70 per cent of its
electricity.

Such a move had been heavily contested by Germany, Austria and
Luxembourg, which have been historically opposed to nuclear power but also
feared that allowing Paris to subsidise its nuclear plants would provide
French industry with structurally lower energy prices, giving it a
competitive advantage.

As part of the new EU rules for the bloc’s
electricity market, France will be allowed to use funding structures known
as contracts for difference. These set a minimum price guarantee for power
providers, as well as a ceiling above which the state can recover any
revenue.

 FT 17th Oct 2023

https://www.ft.com/content/73629c7f-d8a8-4d31-9487-02301c9fe894 #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes

October 20, 2023 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, EUROPE, politics international