Energy Minister Chris Huhne makes the urgent case for new nuclear power stations
The UK coalition government confirmed eight sites Oct 18 as "suitable" for development of new nuclear reactor power station within the next 15 years.
It confirmed two reactor designs which will be used to build the new power stations
In a major policy statement the government said it would release a statement on a price for carbon.
NucNet reported Energy minister Chris Huhne (right) said a “surge of investment” will be needed in new energy sources, including nuclear, to ensure the country’s energy security and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. He pointed out that 20% of the nation's baseload electrical generation capacity needs to be replaced in the next ten years.
Two reactor designs approved
The government also announced the regulatory justification of two new nuclear reactor designs – the Westinghouse 1,100 MW AP 1000 and the Areva 1,600 MW European Pressurized Water Reactor (EPR). The GE-Hitachi 1,500 MW ESBWR reactor was not on the list.
Tidal project cancelled
At the same time Huhne announced the cancellation of the massive Severn Tidal Energy Project which would have provided 5 percent of the nation's electricity. He said it was too ambitious and that there were too many technical and financial uncertainties to commit the government to support it in a time of austerity budgets.
Huhne said there is "no strategic case" for the project and questioned whether private sector investment could be raised to fund the project. The project had an estimated price tag of {L}30 billion.
Read the full details exclusively at the Energy Collective online now.
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2 comments:
Fantastic news for the UK as the nuclear renaissance slowly but surely gathers pace there. If each of the 8 sites get either a double EPR or triple AP-1000, the UK could be looking at adding 25-30 GW to its grid in the next 15-20 years (compared to 11 GW nuclear presently).
And all the sweeter that its delivered by a politician (Chris Huhne) guilty of much anti-nuclear cant.
Multiply by 5 to account for population, and this should be seen as the minimum level of ambition for the country that sent men to the moon.
Mr Huhne is different from other liberals in that he acknowledges the existence of nuclear power as a viable option, and speaks openly about it. While others simply exclude nuclear from any debate as a non-renewable energy source, Huhne talks about energy security and carbon emissions, thus including nuclear.
It will be interesting to see whether companies will actually build a new plant in the UK without government subsidies or loan guarantees, and with the so called austerity going on. But it is great news nevertheless.
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