Report by Professor Steve Thomas, July 2023
The UK government has reaffirmed its target of building 24GW of new nuclear capacity by 2050. This would be equivalent to eight new nuclear stations in addition to the Hinkley Point C station and would be expected to provide 25% of our power by then. This analysis shows that this capacity would arrive after all fossil fuels have been replaced for electricity generation. None of the commercially available reactor technologies are attractive and there are not enough sites to accommodate this capacity. The finance method proposed would place heavy costs and risks on consumers.
The much-hyped Small Modular Reactors are a long way from being commercially available and the claims for them being cheaper than large reactors are not credible. So, far from contributing to the net zero by 2050 target, the 24GW target would be irrelevant for the electricity sector and would divert resources away other options such as energy efficiency and renewables.
Until the option of new nuclear is taken off the table and while governments remain credulous to the latest claims of the nuclear industry, Britain will never be able to devote the resources and energy needed to the options that can deliver a zero-carbon electricity system quickly and at low cost to consumers and taxpayers.
Read full report here: https://www.no2nuclearpower.org.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Too-little-and-late-Final.pdf