Energy: UK should commit to nuclear to secure investment
The industry should be given enough project visibility to amass skills and optimise spending
Does the UK need new nuclear power? Backing for additional plants is hardly unanimous. Reactors are expensive. Waste storage is controversial. Renewable energy is getting cheaper. Long timeframes mean a consistent policy is vital.
On Friday, the government denied reports it might shelve plans for a new reactor at Sizewell. The future of UK nuclear power remains uncertain, all the same.
Current technology has reliability and cost issues. Construction at French utility EDF’s Flamanville 3 plant, using a pressurised water reactor, is more than a decade behind schedule. Costs for newbuilds spiral upwards. In May, EDF — also building the UK’s Hinkley Point C reactor — pegged the likely cost at £25bn-£26bn, up by nearly half from the approved 2016 estimate.
As a result, researchers seeking the cheapest net zero energy system tend to disqualify nuclear. ICIS, a consultancy, reckons the cost of nuclear today is about £126 per megawatt hour, falling to £96/MWh in 2040. The cost of offshore wind power, including the batteries for energy storage, should decline from £165/MWh today to £68/MWh by 2040.
X-link, an interconnector project, reckons it can deliver renewable power for roughly half the cost of Hinkley Point.
Spreadsheets have a poor record of forecasting the future. Reaching net zero with renewables alone would require flawless execution. As the current energy crisis suggests, diversification saves money in the long term. That is a very good reason for the UK to hang on to its nuclear power ambitions.
But if nuclear is to be a key part of the UK’s net zero strategy, it must be done correctly. The industry should be given enough project visibility to amass skills and optimise spending. Modular technology, such as Rolls-Royce’s, which relies on smaller reactors, is one way forward.
The UK should commit to nuclear as a baseload power generator. To harness private capital affordably, that commitment must extend way beyond the tenure of the current government.