The chief executive of E.ON UK, Paul Golby, has told Reuters news agency that he does not believe any new nuclear station will come online before 2020 saying, "It's clearly not possible to accelerate the build time.”
The chief executive of E.ON UK, Paul Golby, has told Reuters news agency that he does not believe any new nuclear station will come online before 2020 saying, “It’s clearly not possible to accelerate the build time.”
Last month Climate and Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband, told the BBC he expected that building would begin on the next generation of nuclear plants by the end of 2017. It contradicts claims made elsewhere by his department that the UK would be “generating electricity from around 2018.” Statements from John Cridland, the deputy director-general of the CBI, also predicted “it will probably be 2017 before any nuclear stations come online.”
Golby’s remark undermines a central argument that has been made by proponents of new nuclear stations – that they can assist in closing the so-called ‘energy gap’ expected between 2015 and 2020. The Times reported earlier this year that other energy experts argue that nuclear power will not be ready in this time frame.
This is an accusation that has long been made by Greenpeace. Its executive director, John Sauven, said in January 2008:
“There is a lie at the heart of the Government’s coming announcement on nuclear power. Ministers’ own research found that even 10 new reactors would only cut the UK’s carbon emissions by about 4% some time after 2025, and the so-called energy gap will open before new nuclear power stations can be built.”
Research from energy consultancy, Poyry, shows that if the UK was to meet its existing EU 2020 renewables and efficiency targets, this would be sufficient to close the ‘energy gap’ without needing to build any new coal or nuclear plant.
5 Responses to “E.ON chief: No new nuclear before 2020”
Shamik Das
RT @leftfootfwd: E.ON chief: No new nuclear before 2020:- http://bit.ly/Qo1ex
rwendland
With the economics of nucs looking flaky even before the recession, and the real price of natural gas falling, I fully expect E.ON to not have new nuclear by 2025. Interesting story here that the oil:gas price ratio has moved from the long-term average of about 1.6 to about 4 (per gigajoule) – which will make anything competing with gas generation tricky.
http://thebulletin.org/web-edition/columnists/kurt-zenz-house/the-curious-oil-and-natural-gas-price-differential
EDF is another story, because it is driven by the French govt desire/need to find work for the French nuclear build industry, until generally younger French nuclear plant requires replacing.
France already has excess nuc power, such that they have to load-follow which is sub-optimal for nucs. The oldest PWRs are 1977 built, and at 900MW are decent kit. 40 years takes the oldest to 2017, 50 years to 2027. They don’t need new nucs now, except as make-work.
In the US they are talking/researching life-extending PWRs toward 60 years, and 40 years is very ordinary.
If EDF was to profit-optimise it wouldn’t order any new nucs until 2012 at the very earliest, more likely about 2022. In fact to profit-optimise it would probably buy gas plant until all the remaining nucs run base-load. But such delays would near kill the French nuclear build industry, so EDF will be pressured to order excessive plant in France early. E.ON isn’t so easy to are-twist.
RupertRead
http://bit.ly/c76Bs This blog well worth checking out. Great anti-nuke post here.
Mohammad Murphy
gas prices are still on the rise today, we should go Alternative Fuel.”.
Shower Pump
gas prices would steadily go up and the supply dwindle and the saudis like to increase their profit margin,*~