More problems with UK nuclear energy have come to light

Nuclear power is back in the balance in the UK after Toshiba pulled out of the planned Moorside generator in Cumbria. The ongoing shambles at Hinkley C  which, despite huge subsidies and price guarantees to its French and Chinese owners, still hasn’t generated a single unit of electricity and isn’t forecast to do so until 2027, should convince government that centralised generation from nuclear power isn’t the answer to Britain’s energy conundrum.

This article in the FT explains why new thinking is needed. This line nicely sums up the problem with nuclear….

“The cost of replacing old nuclear plants with new ones has steadily risen while technological advances have made the opposite true of wind and solar power."

With offshore wind coming in at almost 40% cheaper than the £92.50/MWh guaranteed to the owners of Hinkley C and solar producing at 4p/kWh for commercial customers who generate and consume on site, the case for government lavishing taxpayers cash on foreign owned nuclear generation has vanished.

As France is now realising, reliance on nuclear power has a sting in the tail once those reactors are at the end of their life and need decommissioning and the resulting waste needing to be stored for infinity.

If your company would prefer electricity at 4p/unit rather than relying on expensive, index linked grid electricity from nuclear, contact us here….