Varie
No Valid Justification for Subsidising Nuclear Power
Nuclear power is already heavily subsidised and the Government is proposing to introduce new ones. But withdrawal of just one of those subsidies-the cap on liabilities for nuclear disasters-would raise the price of nuclear electricity to at least £200 per MWh, much more than the unsubsidised cost of offshore wind power at about £140 per MWh.
"Nuclear power is entirely uneconomic." said Dr Gerry Wolff of Energy Fair. "There is now abundant evidence that renewables are much cheaper than nuclear power (taking account of all subsidies), they can provide greater energy security, they are much more effective at cutting emissions, they can be built much faster than nuclear power plants, they can easily meet all our needs for energy, now and for the foreseeable future, and they are free from the many problems with nuclear power.
"There is absolutely no case for subsidising nuclear power with 'contracts for difference' or any other subsidy. Pressing on with that policy will be worse than the PFI fiasco or the debacle of the West Coast Main Line."
Notes
1 Details of calculations, and evidence for the potential of renewable sources of energy, may be found on http://www.energyfair.org.uk/oppcost and http://www.energyfair.org.uk/pren. Reports by Energy Fair may be downloaded via links from http://www.energyfair.org.uk.
2 Energy Fair has submitted a formal complaint to the European Commission (DG Competition) about state aid for nuclear power. Further information may be found in a news release (bit.ly/Mp9Bfy) and on http://www.energyfair.org.uk/actions.
3 Dr Gerry Wolff PhD CEng, Coordinator, Energy Fair, gerrywolff65@gmail.com, +44(0)1248-712962, +44(0)7746-290775, http://www.energyfair.org.uk , 18 Penlon, Menai Bridge , Anglesey, LL59 5LR, UK.