The Stop Hinkley Campaign has described the Government’s so-called Nuclear Roadmap as “pure fantasy”.
The Roadmap majors on plans to explore the possibility of building another large-scale power plant as big as Hinkley Point C. Anglesey and Cumbria are suggested as possible sites. But these sites were designated twelve and a half years ago and have come to nothing. The problem is finding somebody willing to invest the huge sums of money required for these risky projects. SSE, Iberdrola, Engie and Toshiba have already rejected the idea of investing in Moorside in Cumbria. And RWE, Eon and Hitachi have given up on Wylfa on Anglesey.
The Financial Times reports today that the Government and EDF might be able to raise £20bn to fund Sizewell C by end of this year. This looks as though it will probably include investment from the United Arab Emirates sovereign wealth fund. So, we have basically jumped out of a Chinese frying pan into a UAE fire.
Stop Hinkley Spokesperson Roy Pumfrey said:
“This plan is yet another vague wish-list from the Government. It is pure fantasy. Many people will be tempted to echo Beryl from Bristol’s famous phrase “Not another one!” There is nothing here which get us any closer to the important target of zero carbon electricity by 2035. We need to rapidly ramp up energy efficiency and home refurbishments – something we could be doing right now that would save people money.
Global renewable energy capacity grew by the fastest pace recorded in the last 20 years last year, but it’s still not fast enough. Britain is fast losing its lead in this area, thanks to Government bungling and too much focus on fantasy nuclear projects.”
He continued:
“The two reactors being built at Hinkley Point C are now unlikely to be generating electricity until 2028 and 2029 at the earliest and the cost is likely to reach £33bn. Our climate simply doesn’t have the time to wait around for these expensive white elephants to come on-line.
We need to get on with energy efficiency and renewable developments right now.”