ON PAPER, nuclear power is a brilliant way to tackle climate change. Yet the reality of this technology, which promises a steady supply of low-carbon power to cope with wind-free days, frequently disappoints, as Michael Brooks reports.
Take the news that the UK鈥檚 first new nuclear power station in a generation may be two years late and cost up to 拢8 billion extra. This is the third time since the plant was first approved in 2016 that the budget and schedule for Hinkley Point C have been revised by EDF Energy, the French state-owned firm leading its construction.
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The delay doesn鈥檛 mean that lights will go out, nor missed carbon targets. But it does hold consequences for future nuclear projects, in the UK and around the world. It shows that UK prime minister Boris Johnson鈥檚 recent nuclear power rhetoric, including his pledge to , will be hard to deliver on. It also brings up the question that always bedevils nuclear: who pays?
Hinkley鈥檚 cost overrun will be borne by EDF, the downside to its upside of lucrative government subsidies when the reactor starts generating power. Yet a , set to be agreed imminently by the UK and EDF, would see consumers paying more via their energy bills if construction budgets balloon.
Nuclear power could yet play a big role in decarbonising electricity grids outside China, . For that to happen, though, societies need to have an honest conversation about whether they are willing to pay for its benefits.
They also need to weigh up what is lost by supporting nuclear. Last month鈥檚 UK energy strategy offered nothing new on solar power or energy efficiency: low-cost, low-carbon options that can be deployed now, not years in the future. What鈥檚 more, wind farms have the UK on course to become a net electricity exporter by 2030, as we report. Nuclear money could be spent on even more wind.
Nuclear power advocates have been overpromising for almost seven decades, ever since the 1950s claim that it would be 鈥渢oo cheap to meter鈥�. Nuclear can be part of our race to net zero, but cool heads are needed to assess its true costs.
