Britain could scrap the 18 billion-pound ($23 billion) nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point and get the same amount of electricity from offshore wind turbines for roughly the same investment. That’s the assessment of Bloomberg New Energy Finance following Prime Minister Theresa May’s decision to review whether to proceed with the first new atomic plant in more than three decades. For the same capital costs, the U.K. could install about 830 new turbines at sea, which would generate 25 terawatt hours a year — the same amount of power the Hinkley reactors would produce, according to the London-based researcher.
Bloomberg 16th Aug 2016 read more »
Energy Voice 16th Aug 2016 read more »
Perhaps we should man up and swap Hinkley Point for a Severn barrage.
Times 15th Aug 2016 read more »
Letter John Twidell: Ever advancing telecommunications and electronic control systems allow the demand to be adjusted to fit the supply on a scale from household to national. Witness the sophisticated systems widely available for matching electrical loads and energy stores to solar power. Householders already use these; electrical grid operators are trialling methods for widespread integration of solar and wind power with load demand control, energy storage and price adjustment. The last thing such advances need is an untried gigawatt source of constant electricity generation that cannot be matched to demand, that is expensive, and whose waste is harmful and untreatable. There are many in China and France who share these views; ceasing Hinkley will be welcomed by them too.
Guardian 16th Aug 2016 read more »
Letter Steve Emsley: The cost of the Swansea lagoon is estimated to be £1bn. So to achieve the full 8% of baseload electricity (more than Hinkley), perhaps about £5bn would be needed to complete four or five similar projects in the UK – less than a third of the Hinkley costs. There is also no nuclear waste to manage for thousands of years. Tidal power flows into the lagoon for six hours, out for six hours and does this twice a day, giving reliable electricity for 24 hours a day. Swansea Bay tidal lagoon is the best alternative to Hinkley, so why is it not getting immediate government support and approval? Why is it not even being discussed?
Guardian 16th Aug 2016 read more »