What with the CEO of RWE saying they will not invest without subsidy and E.on having words with Chris Huhne about his stance at the ECC Select Committee over subsidy we think it is coming close to the end game for these gigantic German energy corporations.
They have said they need more help than the tinkering with emissions trading prices ( which ,by the way will be a subsidy to this archaic industry)-----Our understanding is this would benefit nuclear but would be detrimental to coal and oil leaving e.on and RWE with not much benefit for attempting to build new nuclear.
EDF appear confident they can build new nukes without subsidy. (from the UK).....maybe the French government will help them fund it?
Below Zac Goldsmith states his position...not all Tories are rabid nuke lovers. Check out his book The Constant Economy and his website www.zacgoldsmith.com
Nuclear Power
The Party's position is simply that the market should decide. There should be zero subsidies (direct or indirect) for nuclear, and nuclear providers must demonstrate an ability to cover future costs of waste disposal and decommissioning. My view – shared by almost all the energy experts I’ve consulted - is that there can be no new nuclear power without government support. There never has been.
Any money the government is willing to invest in energy should be spent in areas that will deliver the greatest returns. That’s not nuclear. It has been calculated by the Rocky Mountain Institute that a pound invested in energy efficiency for instance buys seven times more solution than a pound invested in nuclear.
Subsidies should be for start up, immature technologies, which is why we will introduce Germany’s Feed-In-Tarrifs. Under the German system anyone generating electricity from solar PV, wind or hydro is guaranteed a payment of four times the market rate. The system boosts take-up by consumers by reducing the payback times on such investments to less than 10 years - compared with 25 or 30 years in Britain. As a result, Germany has 200 times as much solar energy as Britain, and a flourishing renewable energy sector.
I do think it’s worth putting nuclear in context. It provides only 18% of our electricity, and electricity is only a small part of the energy we use. Heat is more significant. It is a big political issue, but it has been blown out of proportion in terms of its actual importance. Dependence on Russia for instance is principally a heat issue - not an electricity issue, and would not be solved by nuclear.
If you’d like to read more about my views nuclear go to www.zacgoldsmith.com
Friday, 24 September 2010
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Are you against nuclear energy or a nuclear power station ruining your view?
ReplyDeleteI personally am against nuclear energy as you can see from the blog entries......I am also concerned by electricity production being owned by a few companies with most having no allegiance to the UK
ReplyDeleteThe threat to the view and the horrendous disruption involved in building this giant supersized power station has woken many local people up to whats really going on as they read more and more lies and propaganda put about by Eon and RWE people in the area are slowing turning against nuclear altogether as they realise that nuclear is a dirty dirty business. By the time the consultations are finished i reckon the whole country will realise how wrong it all is per se. So dont worry about people who only about the view... they will soon wake up in the process of defending it. welcome and encourage them... its brilliant way of converting age hardened pro nuclear folks and it seems to have worked!
ReplyDeletewhat i meant to say was go zak... wake the tories up to this dirty dirty industry
ReplyDeleteHello Reg and Anon
ReplyDeleteMy comment was relating to nimbyism. Nuclear power like landfill is not the 'toxic death industry' as implied.
We need to address the reduction in coal and gas fired power stations to meet our committments to the EU Renewables Directive.
I don't support nuclear power but worry that the nimby elite will stifle all alternatives to the CO2 emitting situation we have today.
Good luck with your campaign - if it's anti nuclear power as opposed to anti 'my view from my kitchen window' I cannot oppose your opinions.