Britain could save £1bn a year by pursuing cheaper alternatives to the proposed Hinkley Point nuclear power station, according to a report that says the Franco-Chinese project is not essential to keeping Britain’s lights on. As few as four big offshore wind farms could provide as much electricity as the 3.2 gigawatts expected from Hinkley, with additional gas-fired power and interconnectors with other countries also helping to fill the gap if the Somerset plant is scrapped. The findings from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit follows the decision by Theresa May, prime minister, to put Hinkley on hold pending a review, with a decision expected next month. Critics say that the £18bn project is too expensive and risky. Richard Black, director of the ECIU, said the think-tank set out to determine whether it was possible for the UK to maintain adequate electricity supplies without Hinkley while keeping carbon emissions and energy bills in check. “Our conclusion is that [Hinkley is] not essential; using tried and tested technologies, with nothing unproven or futuristic, Britain can meet all its targets and do so at lower cost,” he said. “If Mrs May decides to go ahead with Hinkley, all well and good — if she decides not to, or if the project stumbles at a later stage, we have alternatives.”
FT 26th Aug 2016 read more »
Edie 26th Aug 2016 read more »
Business Green 26th Aug 2016 read more »
Times 26th Aug 2016 read more »
The government used one method to calculate it could add about £10 a year to each household’s bill, although some other calculations have suggested it could be more. In its report, the not-for-profit ECIU made the assumption that “the total annual cost of Hinkley will probably be about £2.5bn”. It then calculated the cost of a basket of alternative measures to meet the country’s energy and climate change targets, and concluded that bill payers, both domestic and business, would end up paying a total of £1bn less per year for their energy if they were adopted than if Hinkley C were built.
BBC 26th Aug 2016 read more »
Green MEP, Molly Scott Cato, has said that with the government looking for a way out of proceeding with the hugely expensive Hinkley nuclear project and the commissioning of new renewables schemes ‘falling off the cliff’, an urgent plan for kick-starting an energy revolution is now needed. Figures just released from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy show that the installation of small scale renewable energy schemes – those under 5MW – have almost disappeared in the last few months. There has been no new small scale wind, hydro or anaerobic digestion projects at all since January this year, and new solar schemes have seen a drastic cut. Dr Scott Cato believes this is entirely a result of changes in government energy policy, particularly changes to the Feed-in Tariff (FiT). She said: “The government is now looking for an exit route from Hinkley. This is great news; I have been calling for this white elephant to be shelved for many years. However, by putting all their eggs in one radioactive basket, and introducing policies that have discouraged individuals and communities from installing renewable energy schemes, they have all but killed off growth in small scale renewables. This is a sector with enormous potential not only for filling the energy gap and creating thousands of jobs, but also for generating home-grown energy that gives power back to communities rather than leaving it in the hands of giant corporations and foreign governments. It is a scandal that this sector, which was beginning to thrive in the UK, has been so badly hit.”
Green Party 25th Aug 2016 read more »