The electricity generated by the Wylfa nuclear plant could be about a fifth cheaper than Hinkley Point’s but is likely to be much more expensive than power from the latest offshore wind farms. It is understood that a figure of close to £75 per megawatt-hour is under discussion as the “strike price” that Hitachi, the Japanese conglomerate developing the Anglesey plant, would be guaranteed by the government for the electricity it produces. The difference between the guaranteed price and the wholesale price — currently £50 per MWh — would be paid for by consumers through levies on their energy bills. Ministers are preparing to announce next week the outline of a deal to fund the proposed Wylfa plant, which could cost in excess of £15 billion. The twin-reactor plant could generate 2.9 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power five million homes. It is due to start generating in the mid 2020s. The government plans to invest directly in Wylfa, as well as to offer extensive guarantee loans for the project. These measures are designed to cut the cost of the project and so lower the price that consumers will have to cover. Critics of nuclear power are likely to draw unfavourable comparisons with offshore wind. Two projects in UK waters were awarded guarantees prices of £57.50 per MWh last year. Some onshore wind and solar projects are being built without any subsidy.
Times 1st June 2018 read more »
Ministers expected to announce outline agreement next week. Strike price for Wylfa nuclear plant far lower than Hinkley Point. The guaranteed “strike price” for electricity produced by a new nuclear plant in Wales will be around £15 per megawatt hour lower than the deal negotiated for Hinkley Point C, according to people close to the negotiations. Ministers are expected to announce an agreement for funding Wylfa next week though this will not include precise details of the government’s stake in the project or the strike price. Full cost estimates for the project, which are estimated at about £16bn will not be completed until the end of the year. Hitachi is expected to make a final investment decision next year. The UK Governments decision to take a direct equity stake in the plant marks a reversal of a previous policy not to commit public funds to the construction of new nuclear power plants.
FT 31st May 2018 read more »
So let’s see. Construction costs for uneconomically and globally fading nuclear power plants continue to soar. The timeframes for building them stretch out endlessly like an Alice in Wonderland hallucinogen. The public don’t want them. The grid doesn’t need them. But there is a nuclear power plant that Japanese corporation, Hitachi, wants to build on a spectacular piece of Welsh coastline. It’s likely to cost at least $28 billion and climbing. And it’s still going ahead. Just another day in the insane world of blind nuclear evangelism, in which there is nothing in it for anyone except possibly the continued ability to claim nuclear pre-eminence somewhere in the world.
Beyond Nuclear 30th May 2018 read more »
