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Cost of closing nuclear plants 'spiralling out of control'



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Published Date: 29 May 2008
By Alan Jones
CAMPAIGN groups last night warned that the cost of decommissioning nuclear power stations was "spiralling out of control", after an official admission that an estimate of £73 billion was set to rise.
The figure, published in January, was an increase of £12 billion on the previous estimate made in 2003.

But yesterday, Jim Morse, a divisional director at the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, said there was a " high probability that, in the short term, (the figure] will go up".

Green groups called for a "radical new approach" to energy production.

Neil Crompton, of Friends of the Earth, said: "Nuclear and fossil-fuel power generation pose an enormous threat to the environment – and their cost to the economy is spiralling out of control."



The full article contains 130 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 28 May 2008 9:40 PM
  • Source: The Scotsman
  • Location: Edinburgh
  • Related Topics: Nuclear energy
 
1

Bishop Boyne,

Loanhead 29/05/2008 04:15:06
These cost have never fully been costed into the so called cheapest form of power generation, however has lord Blair not been given a consultancy position with the power generators, yet!!
2

Marian,

29/05/2008 11:42:31
Yesterday PM Brown abused the meeting he had with the North Sea Oil producers with his propaganda push for even more nuclear power stations in the UK. We should thank our lucky stars that the Scottish Government will not allow any more power stations in Scotland utilising this obscene and uneconomic method of producing electricity.
3

Saoghal Beag,

29/05/2008 13:08:50
These decommisioning costs which have been supported by the government are one form of subsidy the nuclear industry needs to even be economically viable.

£600M of R&D against less than £50M for renewables over the same period.

Sellafield filling up with increasing volumes of waste with nowhere for it to go, but ongoing management and security costs required.

The construction of a repository of waste if it ever happens will not be paid wholly by the nuclear generating industry. They can't afford to.

The latest new build reactor in France (the preferred design to be used in the UK) has had its construction delayed after too many faults have been found. Since construction requires so much capital and is only remotely viable when ultra low interest rates are offered (another subsidy) the impact of delays on cost is massive.

Nuclear fuel is finite and though a small portion of operating costs, the price of uranium has rocketed and will continue to do so.

Blair and Broon have taken the hook of personal gain directly or indirectly (as bishop boyne alludes to)rather than look to long term affordable solutions.
4

Proximaking,

Dundee 29/05/2008 13:12:41
The problem with centralised energy conversion is that it is a terrorist's dream. If terrorists take down one, just one, 400kV grid tower as they are doing in Afghanistan now the idea of a centralised nuclear future is over for good. We don't have enough troops in the UK to protect the towers. Other ideas have been ignored, Google the words Shell Boffin Sinclair and choose "I'm feeling lucky" you might even get a flying car out of it. Who decided to call flywheels flywheels anyway? It seems Shell don't like the idea of demand for oil halving overnight and then disappearing within a couple of years of that.

 

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