Wind Energy and renewable energy blog

UK Government ministers are telling the public that nuclear energy is essential to meet our low carbon electricity requirements over the coming years. When ministers announced that nuclear energy was to be part of the UK’s energy future several years ago they also said that the taxpayer will not subsidise new reactors.

The tabloids a few weeks ago contained numerous articles about the cost of renewable energy. The media has this week started to realise the greater financial implications of nuclear energy.

In order to build nuclear reacters companies need to be confident enough to invest the tens of billions of pounds required. Some utilities are now saying that the economics do not stack up and the next generation of nuclear power stations will not be built unless the Government provides direct financial assistance.

French owned electricity company EDF is planning to build four new reactors in the UK but wants a guaranteed floor price for electricity generated by nuclear to make it financially viable. EDF say that a floor price would make nuclear more competitive with fossil fuel power stations such as gas and coal fired stations. However if a financial incentive for nuclear energy is introduced, householders are likely to pay for it and as a result see higher electricity bills.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is currently working on a new Energy Bill that will create a financial incentive structure to pay for new ‘clean coal’ technology. It is likely that companies like EDF will be lobbying for nuclear to be included too.

DECC insisted in a Telegraph article this week that there is no plan to set a floor price for carbon, saying that carbon prices will rise when the supply of permits is restricted next year.

A spokesman from DECC said: “The Government has been repeatedly clear that there will be no subsidy towards the building of new nuclear power stations and their clean up. It is for energy companies to fund, build and develop these, not the taxpayer. That remains the case.”

The article included a statement by independent nuclear energy consultant John Large who estimates that supporting new nuclear power stations will cost households “significantly more” that the £15 figure suggested as being needed to give renewables the financial boost it needs to stack up. Other energy consultants say there is no doubt that there is a substantial price tag attached to nuclear. Whether funded through a government levy or through increased electricity prices consumers will ultimately have to dig deep into their pockets.

A large sector of the UK population remain sceptical about nuclear energy, how to deal with the waste and who is to pay being as yet unanswered questions. On the other hand the UK population as a whole does not appear prepared to make sacrifices by way of serious energy demand reduction and alternative energy committment. Overall we seem happy to sacrifice other peoples’ standard of living i.e. those living in the areas near where waste will be disposed of or the standard of living of the next generation. The result is a highly likely continuation of our energy addiction fed by expensive nuclear energy.